
Pass Thug 
Book j*/f53 



I8f7 



\ 

WELLS'S SCHOOL GRAMMAR. 



GRAMMAR 



OF THE 



ENGLISH LANGUAGE; 



FOE THE USE OF SCHOOLS, 



BY W. H. WELLS, M. A,, 

INSTRUCTOR IN RIIILLIRS ACADEMY, ANDOVER. 3 



M f u e t e e u t f) & t) o u s a n tr . 



CINCINNATI: 

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM H.MOORE & CO. 

DETROIT : A. M'FARREN. 

NEW YORK: MARK H. NEWMAN & CO. 

1847. 



V « v .. «-» «• -. ' * 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year .840, by 

Allen, Morrill, and Wabdwell, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts, 



7 






STEREOTYPED BY 



GEORGE A. CUB TIS; 

NEW ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY, 
BOSTON. 



PREFACE 



A brief notice of the circumstances under which the fol- 
lowing work has been written, will give a general idea of its 
prominent characteristics. 

About nine years since, while engaged in the instruction 
of a class of teachers, the author commenced a critical exam- 
ination of several grammatical works, in connection with a 
systematic course of English reading. All the important 
principles of the language were familiarly discussed before 
the class. The definitions and rules of different grammarians 
were carefully compared with each other, and tested by con- 
stant reference to the usage of standard writers. In conduct- 
ing the exercises of successive classes of teachers, a similar 
course has been repeated from year to year till the present 
time. The result of these labors is embodied in the work 
now offered to the public.^ 

English Grammar is too often taught as if it were merely 
the art of parsing. It is hoped that instructors will find the 
present work adapted to teach " the art of speaking and 
writing" Copious exercises and illustrations have been 

* In pursuing this investigation, the author has collected between 
three and four hundred different treatises on English Grammar, and 
noted above eighteen thousand illustrative examples in the productions 
of the best English writers. 



11 PREFACE. 

introduced, and the learner is required to make constant 
application of the principles as he advances. 

The essay on Oral Instruction was prepared at the request 
of Henry Barnard, Esq., Commissioner of Public Schools for 
the State of Rhode Island, and first appeared as one of his 
series of Educational Tracts. 

The author's acknowledgments are due to Mr. J. M. 

Ordway, of Lowell, for important assistance in the preparation 

of the work ; and to several other teachers and friends of 

education, for valuable suggestions during its progress through 

the press. 

W. H. W. 
Phillips Academy, 1846. 




CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH GRAMMARS. 



[ The catalogue here given embraces only those grammars to which 
special reference is made in the pages of the following work.] 

Adams, Rev. Charles, A. M., 12mo, Boston ; 1838. 

Adams, Daniel, 3d ed., 12mo, Montpelier, Vt. ; 1814. 

Ains worth, Luther, 12mo, Providence ; 1837. 

Alden, Abner, A. M., 12mo, Boston ; 1811. 

Alexander, Caleb, A. M., 10th ed., 12mo, Keene, N. H. j 1814, 

Alexander, Samuel, 4th ed., 18mo, London ; 1832. 

Allen, Rev. William, 2d ed., 12mo, London; 1824. 

Allen and Corn well, 3d ed., 18mo, London ; 1841. 

Angell, Oliver, A. M., 12mo, Providence; 1830. 

Angus, William, M. A., 2d ed., 12mo, Glasgow; 1807. 

Arnold, T. K., M. A., 2d ed., 12mo, London ; 1841. 

Ash. John, LL. D., new ed., 18mo, London ; 1785. 

Balch, William S., 12mo, Boston ; 1839. 

Baldwin, Edward, 2d ed., 18mo, London; 1824. 

Barnard, F. A. P., A. M., 12mo, New York; 1836. 

Barrett, John, 2d ed., 18mo, Boston ; 1819. 

Barrie, Alexander, 9th ed., l8mo, Edinburgh ; 1800. 

Bell, John, 12mo, Glasgow; 1769. 

Bicknell, Alexander, 12mo, London ; 1790. 

Bingham, Caleb, A. M., 12th ed., 24mo, Boston; 1801. 

Blair, Rev. David, 15th ed., 18mo, London; 1826. 

Booth, David, 12mo, London ; 1837. 

Brace, Joab, 18mo, Philadelphia ; 1839. 

Brightland, John, 5th ed., 12mo, London ; 1728. 

British Grammar, 12mo, London and Boston ; 1784. 

Brittain, Rev. Lewis, 2d ed., London ; 1790. 

Brown, Goold, stereotype ed., 12mo. New York ; 1846. 

Buchanan, James, 12mo, London; 1767. — Philadelphia; 1792. 

Bucke, Charles, 18mo, London ; 1829. 

Bullions, Peter, D. D., 15th ed., 12mo, New York; 1846. 

Burn, John, 7th ed., 18mo, Glasgow, 1799. 

Burr, Jonathan, A. M., 3d ed., 18mo, Boston ; 1818. 

Butler, Noble, A. M., 12mo, Louisville, Ky. ; 1845. 

Cardell, William S., 3d ed., 18mo, Hartford ; 1827. 

Chapin, Joel, 12mo, Springfield ; 1842. 

Churchill, T. O., 12mo, London ; 1823. 

Coar, Thomas, 12mo, London ; 1796. 

1* 



IV LIST OF AUTHORS. 

Cobb, E., 2d ed., 12mo, Boston ; 1821. 

Cobbett, William, 12mo, London ; 1818. — New York; 1833. 

Cochran, Peter, A. B., 18mo, Boston; 1802. 

Comly, John, 15th ed., 18mo, Philadelphia ; 1838. 

Connel, Robert, 2d ed., 18mo, Glasgow ; 1834. 

Connon, C. "VV., M. A., 12mo, Edinburgh; 1845. 

Cooper, J. G., 12mo, Philadelphia; 1831. 

Coote, C, LL. D., 8\ro, London ; 1788. 

Cornell, William M., 4to, Boston ; 1840. 

Crane, George, 12mo, London ; 1843. 

Crombie, Alexander, LL. D., F. R. S., 4th ed. ; 8vo, London ; 183* 

Cutler, Andrew, 12mo, Plainfield, Ct. ; 1841. 

Dalton, John, 2d ed., 12mo, London ; 1803. 

Davis, Pardon, 12mo, Philadelphia ; 1845. 

Day, Parsons E., 2ded., 18mo, Ithaca, N. Y.; 1844. 

Dearborn, Benjamin, 12mo, Boston ; 1795. 

Del Mar, E., 12mo, London; 1842. 

Dilworth, Thomas, 26th ed., l2mo, London ; 1764. 

D'Orsey, Alexander J. D., 12mo, Edinburgh ; 1842. 

Earl, Mary, 18mo, Boston ; 1816. 

Elmore, D. W., A. M., 18mo, Troy, N. Y. ; 1830. 

Elphinston, James, 12mo, London ; 1766. 

Emmons, S. B., 12mo, Boston ; 1832. 

Everest, Cornelius B., 12mo. Norwich ; 1835. 

Farnum, Caleb, A. M., 2d ed., 12mo ; Boston ; 1843. 

Farro, D., 12mo, London ; 1754. 

Fetch, W., 12mo, Boston ; 1837. 

Felton, O. C, 2d ed., 12mo, Salem ; 1843. 

Fenning, D., 12mo, London; 1771. 

Fisher, A., 28th ed., 12mo, London ; 1795. 

Fletcher, Levi, 12mo, Philadelphia ; 1834. 

Flint, John, 18mo, New York ; 1837. 

Flower, M. and W. B., 18mo, London ; 1844. 

Fowle, William B., 12mo, Boston ; 1842. 

Frazee, Rev. Bradford, 12mo, Philadelphia ; 1844. 

French, D'Arcy A., 12mo, Baltimore ; 1831. 

Frost, John, A. M., 12mo, Philadelphia; 1842. 

Fuller, Allen, 12mo, Plymouth, Mass. ; 1822. 

Gilbert, E., 18mo, New York ; 1835. 

Goldsbury, John, A. M., 12mo, Boston; 1842. 

Goodenow, S. B., 2d ed., 12mo, Boston; 1843. 

Graham, G. F., 12mo, London; 1843. 

Grant, John, A. M., 12mo, London; 1813. 

Green, R. W., 5th ed., 18mo, Philadelphia; 1834. 

Greenleaf, J., 20th ed., 4to, New York ; 1837. 

Greenwood, James, 2d ed., 12mo, London ; 1722. 

Gurney, David, A. M., 2d ed., 18mo, Boston; 1808. 

Hall, Rev. S. R., 2d ed., l2mo, Springfield; 1833. 

Hallock, Edward J., 12mo, Andover; 1842. 

Hamlin, L. F., stereotype ed., 12mo, New York ; 1832. 

Hart, John S., A. M., 12mo, Philadelphia; 1845. 

Hazen, Edward, A. M., 12mo, New York ; 1842. 



LIST OF AUTHORS. V 

Hazlitt, Wm., 18mo, London; 1810. 

Hiley, Richard, 3d ed., 12mo, London ; 1840 

Hodgson, Rev. Isaac, 12mo, London ; 1770. 

Hornsey, John, 6th ed., 12mo, York, England; 1816. 

Hort, W. Jillard, 18mo, London ; 1822. 

Hull, J. H., 4th ed., 12mo, Boston; 1828. 

Ingersoll, C. M., 12mo., Philadelphia; 1835. 

Jaudon, D., 4th ed., 18mo, Philadelphia; 1828. 

Jenkins, Azariah, 12rno, Rochester, N. Y. ; 1835. 

Joel, Thomas, 12mo, London ; 1775. 

Johnson, Samuel, LL. D., (prefixed to Dictionary,) 4to, London ; 1775. 

Johnson, Ben, 8vo, London; 1640. — 1816. 

Judson, Adoniram, A. B., 12mo, Boston ; 1808. 

Kenniou, Charlotte, 12mo, London ; 1842. 

King, Walter W., i8mo, London; 1841. 

Kirkham, Samuel, 36th ed., 12mo, Rochester, N. Y. ; 1834. 

Latham, R. G., A. M., 12mo, London; 1843. 

Lennie, William, 13th ed. ; l8mo, Edinburgh; 1831. 

Lewis, William G., 18mo, London; 1821. 

Lindsay, Rev r . John, A. M., 18mo, London ; 1842. 

Locke, John, M. D., l8mo, Cincinnati ; 1827. 

Lovechild, Mrs., 40th ed., 18mo, London ; 1842. 

Lowth, Robert, LL. D., 18mo, London ; 1763. — Cambridge, (J. S. ; 1838. 

Lynde, John, 18mo, Woodstock, Vt. ; 1821. 

Maittaire, Michael, 12mo, London ; 1712. 

Marcet, Mrs., 7th ed., 18mo, London ; 1843. 

Martin, Benjamin, 12mo, London ; 1754. 

M'Culloch, J. M., D. D., 7rh ed., 18mo, Edinburgh ; 1841. 

Meilan, Mark Anthony, 12mo, London ; 1803. 

Menye, J., 12mo, New York; 1785. 

Milligan, Rev. George, 2d ed., 18mo, Edinburgh ; 1839. 

Morgan, Jonathan, A. B., 12mo, Hallowell, Me. ; 1814. 

Morley, Charles, A. B., 18mo, Hartford ; 1836. 

Murray, Lindley, 8vo, Holdgate, England ; 1795. — New York; 1814. 

Nutting, Rufus, A. M., 3d ed., 12mo, Montpelier, Vt.; 1826. 

Oliver, Edward, D. D., 12 mo, London ; 1807. 

Oliver, Samuel, 8vo, London ; 1825. 

Parker and Fox, 5th ed., 12mo, Boston ; 1837. 

Parkhurst, John L., 18mo, Andover; 1838. 

Peirce, Oliver B., 12mo, New York; 1839. 

Perley, Daniel, M. D., 18mo, Andover ; 1834. 

Perry, William, (prefixed to Dictionary,) 12mo, Edinburgh ; 1801. 

Picket, A. and J. W., 12mo, Cincinnati ; 1837. 

Pinnock, W., 12mo, London ; 1829. 

Pond's Murray, 6th ed., 12mo, Worcester ; 1835. 

Powers, Daniel, A. M., 12mo, West Brockfield, Mass. ; 1845. 

Priestley, Joseph, LL. D., 3d ed, 18mo, London; 1772. 

Pue, Hugh A., 18mo, Philadelphia ; 1841. 

Pullen, P. H., 2d ed., 12mo, London; 1822. 

Putnam, J. M., 18mo, Concord, N. H. ; 1831. 

Reed, Caleb, A. M., 18mo, Boston; 1821. 

Robbins, Manasseh, 12mo. Providence ; 1826. 



VI LIST OF AUTHORS. 

Boss, Robert, 7th ed., 12mo, Hartford; 1782. 

Russell, J., D. D., 10th ed., 18mo, London ; 1842. 

Russell, William E., 2d ed., 18mo, Hartford; 1819. 

Sanborn, D. H., 12mo, Concord, N. H. ; 1836. 

Simmonite, "W. J., l2mo, London ; 1841. 

Skillern, R. S., A. M., 2d ed., 12mo, Gloucester, England; 1808. 

Smart, B. H., 12mo, London; 1841. 

Smetham, Thomas, 12mo, London ; 1774. 

Smith, Eli, 18 mo, Philadelphia ; 1812. 

Smith, Peter, A. M., 18mo, Edinburgh; 1826. 

Smith, R. C, stereotype ed., 12mo, Philadelphia ; 1845. 

Snyder, W., 12mo, Winchester ; 1834. 

Spear, M. P., 12mo, Boston ; 1845. 

Staniford, Daniel, A. M., 2d ed., 18mo, Boston; 1815. 

Stearns, George, 4to, Boston ; 1843. 

St. Quentin, D., M. A., 12mo, London; 1812. 

Story, Joshua, 3d ed., 12mo, Newcastle, England ; 1783. 

Sutcliffe, Joseph, A. M., 2d ed., 12mo, London ; 1815. 

Swett, J., A. M., 2d ed., 12mo, Claremont, N. H. ; 1844. 

Ticken, William, 12mo, London; 1806. 

Ticknor, Elisha, A. M., 3d ed., 18mo, Boston ; 1794. 

Todd, Lewis C, 2d ed., 18mo. Fredonia, N. Y. ; 1827. 

Trinder, William M., 12mo, London; 1781. 

Ussher, G. Neville, 12mo, London; 1787. — Exeter, N. H. ; 1804. 

Waldo, John, 18mo, Philadelphia; 1814. 

Walker, John, 12 mo, London ; 1805. 

Wallis, John, D. D., (in T^atin,) 6th ed., 8vo, London; 1765. 

Ward, H., 12mo, Whitehaven, England; 1777. 

Ward, John, LL. D., 12mo, London ; 1758. 

Ward, William, M. A., 3d ed., 12mo, Northampton, England ; 1771. 

Webber, Samuel, 12mo, Cambridge, Mass.; 1832. 

Webster, Noah, LL. D., 12mo, New Haven ; 1831. 

Weld, A. H., M. A., 12mo, Portland ; 1846. 

Wilbur, Josiah, 2d ed., 12mo, Bellows Falls ; 1822. 

Wilcox, A. F., 18mo, New Haven ; 1828. 

Willard, Samuel, 18mo, Greenfield, Mass; 1816. 

Wilson, George, 18mo, London ; 1777. 

Wilson, J. P., D. D., 8vo, Philadelphia ; 1817. 

Worcester, Samuel, 18mo, Gloucester, Mass.; 1827. 

Wright, Joseph W., C. E., 12mo, New- York; 1838. 



COLLATERAL AUTHORITIES. 



Adam, Alexander, LL. D. Rudiments of Latin and English Gram- 
mar. Edinburgh; 1772. —Boston; 1812. 

Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar. Boston ; 1845. 

Bachi, Pietro. Grammar of the Italian Language. Boston; 1838. 

Barber, Jonathan. Grammar of Elocution. New Haven ; 1830. 

Beattie, James, LL. D. Theory of Language. London; 1783. —Phil- 
adelphia ; 1809. 

Blair, Hugh, D. D. Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Letters. Lon- 
don ; 1783. — Philadelphia; 1829. 

Bolmar's edition of Levizac's French Grammar. Philadelphia; 1841. 

Brande, W. T. Dictionary of Science, Literature and Art. London 
and New York; 1843. 

Bugard, B. F. Complete Grammar of the French Language. Bos- 
ton; 1843. 

Buttmann, Philip. Larger Greek Grammar. Translated by Edward 
Robinson. Andover ; 1833. 

Campbell, George, D. D. Philosophy of Rhetoric. London ; 1776. — 
New York; 1834. 

Comstock, Andrew, M. D. System of Elocution. Philadelphia; 1845. 

Crosby, Alpheus. Grammar of the Greek Language. Boston; 1844. 

Day, H. N. Art of Elocution. New Haven ; 1844. 

De Sacy, A. J. Sylvestre. Principles of General Grammar ; translated 
from the French, by Fosdick. Andover ; 1834. 

Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Edinburgh ; 1830. 

Enfield, William, A. M. New Pronouncing Dictionary. London ; 
1807. 

Fulton and Knight. Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary. Edin- 
burgh; 1807. 

Harris, James. Hermes, or a Philosophical Inquiry concerning Univer- 
sal Grammar. London; 1751. — 1806. 

Hickes, George, D. D. Thesaurus. Oxford; 1705. 

Jameson, R. S. Dictionary of the English Language. London ; 1827. 

Jamieson, Alexander. Grammar of Rhetoric and Polite Literature. 
London ; 1818. — New Haven ; 1820. 

Johnson, Samuel, LL. D. Dictionary of the English Language. Dub- 
lin; 1775. 

Jones, Stephen. General Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary of 
the English Language. London; 1798. 

Ken rick, William, LL. D. New Dictionary of the English Language. 
London; 1773. 

Knowles, James. Pronouncing and Explanatory Dictionary of the 
English Language. London ; 1835. 



Vlll COLLATERAL AUTHORITIES. 

Ku'hner, Raphael. Larger Greek Grammar. Translated by Edwards 
and Taylor. Andover ; 1844. 

Latham, R. G., A. M. The English Language. London; 1841. 

Mandeville, Henry. Elements of Reading and Oratory. Utica, N. Y.; 
1845. 

McElligott, James N. Manual, Analytical and Synthetical, of Orthog- 
raphy and Definitions. New York. ; 1845. 

Murdoch, J. E. and William Russell. Orthophony,; or Vocal Culture 
in Elocution. Boston ; 1845. 

Nares, Robert, B. D. Elements of Orthoepy. London ; 1784. 

Page, David P. Normal Chart of the Elementary Sounds of the Eng- 
lish Language. Syracuse, N. Y. ; 1846. 

Perry, William. Royal Standard English Dictionary. Edinburgh; 
1793. 

Pickbourn, James. Dissertation on the English verb. London ; 1789. 

Rees, Abraham, D, D. Cyclopaedia. London; 1820. — Philadelphia; 
1822. 

Rush, James, M. D. Philosophy of the Human Voice. Philadelphia ; 
1833. 

Russell, William. Lessons in Enunciation. Boston; 1841. 

Sheridan, Thomas, A. M. General Dictionary of the English Lan- 
guage. London ; 1797. 

Smart, B. H. Principles of Pronunciation, and Pronouncing Diction- 
ary of the English Language. London ; 1846. 

Town, Salem, A.M. Analysis of the Derivative Words in the English 
Language. New York ; 1845. 

Walker, William, B. D. Treatise of English Particles. London. 
1653. 

Walker, John. Critical Pronouncing Dictionary. Dublin; 1794. 

Webster, Noah, LL. D. American Dictionary of the English Lan- 
guage. New Haven ; 1841. 

Worcester, J. E. Universal and Critical Dictionary of the English 
. Language. Boston ; 1846. 

Wright, Albert D. Analytical Orthography. New York ; 1845. 



TO TEACHERS. 



That portion of the work which is printed in the largest type, is de- 
signed for beginners ; and the corresponding questions are printed in 
Roman characters. That which is printed in type of the second size, 
is designed for pupils more advanced; and the corresponding questions 
are in Italics. That which is printed in the smallest type, is designed 
for occasional reference. 

The Exercises which occur in different portions of the work are in- 
tended to be modified or extended at the discretion of teachers. 



ORAL INSTRUCTION 



IN 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR. 



The following Outline of Oral Instruction is designed to furnish 
practical suggestions to teachers engaged in imparting a knowledge 
of the rudiments of English Grammar. 

By adopting a familiar, inductive method of presenting this subject, 
it may be rendered highly attractive to young learners ; and the 
practice of introducing illustrative exercises in composition, will be 
found to afford great assistance to pupils in comprehending and 
retaining the principles presented, while it also leads them to culti- 
vate the habit of expressing their thoughts with facility and accuracy. 

It is not expected that teachers will confine themselves strictly to 
any particular system, but it is hoped that the general features of the 
sketch here presented will be found to meet the wants of all classes 
of beginners. 



PARTS OF SPEECH. 

The classification of words may be introduced by referring to the 
different kinds of trees ; to the different kinds of animals ; or to any 
other collection of objects that admit of a regular division into distinct 
classes. Thus, when we go into a forest, we find that the number 
of trees about us is greater than we can estimate. But we soon 
observe that a portion of them have certain striking resemblances, 
while they differ essentially from all the rest. We also observe that 
others, which differ materially from these, have similar resemblances 
to one another. And by extending our observation, we find that this 
countless multitude of trees all belong to a very few simple classes, 
which are easily distinguished from each other. Those of one class 
we associate together, and call them Oak trees ; those of another 



10 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

class we call Pine trees ; and in this manner we proceed with all the 
different kinds. 

Just so it is with the words of our language. Though their num- 
ber is about eighty thousand, yet we find, on a careful examination, 
that they all belong to less than a dozen different classes, called Parts 
of Speech ; so that we have only to learn the character of these 
divisions, and we shall be able to tell the class to which any word 
in the language belongs. 

By some such introductory illustration, the curiosity of a class of 
beginners may be easily excited, and they will thus be prepared to 
enter with eagerness upon the labor of learning to distinguish the 
j different parts of speech. 

The teacher should lead his pupils to take an active part in these 
lessons from the beginning ; not only by proposing frequent questions 
for them to answer, but also by encouraging them to ask such ques- 
tions as their own curiosity may suggest. 






THE NOUN. 

Having prepared the way for the consideration of words, the teacher 
next requests his pupils to mention the names of any objects that occur 
to them. As they proceed to give the words book, desk, inkstand, 
etc., the teacher writes them in a column on the black-board. 

The teacher now asks a variety of questions, similar to the follow- 
ing : — Are all words names 1 Can you mention any words that are 
not names 1 Are good and bad, names 1 Why not 1 Can you think 
of any object that has not a name 1 Do any objects that you cannot , 
see or touch have names 1 Is wise a name 1 Is wisdom ? Virtue ? 
Virtuous ? Knowledge ? 

After these questions have been disposed of, the pupils are informed 
that the names of all objects, whether material or immaterial, are 
called Nouns ; and the teacher proceeds at the same time to write 
this title over the column of names on the board. 

One or more sentences are now placed in the hands of the pupils, 
or written on the board ; and each member of the class proceeds to 
select all the nouns, and write them in a column on a slate or piece 
of paper. The teacher should commence with sentences of the 
simplest construction, and afterwards introduce more difficult forms 
of expression as the learners advance. 



ORAL INSTRUCTION. 11 

Model I. 
The earth is a large globe or ball. — Virtue is better than riches. 

Nouns. 

Earth 

Globe 

Ball 

Virtue 

Riches 

Exercises of this description should be continued till the pupils are 
able to point out the nouns of any common sentence with readiness. 

The teacher next writes several nouns on the black-board, and 
calls on the class to construct one or more sentences embracing the 
words which he has placed before them. 

Model II. 
Sun, bird, idleness, night. 
The hawk is a bird of prey. — Idleness often leads to vice. — The sun 
shines by day, and the moon by night. 

After going through with several exercises of this kind, the pupils 
may be required to construct a variety of sentences, and write the 
letter n over all the nouns embraced in them. 

Model III. 

M n n n n 

In winter the ponds and rivers are generally covered with ice. — Vir- 

n n 

ginia is the largest State in the Union. 



THE ADJECTIVE. 

When the pupils have become sufficiently acquainted with the 
nature of nouns, they may be introduced to the class of Adjectives in a 
similar manner. The teacher directs the attention of the pupils to a 
book, and asks if they can mention any words that express its character 
or quality. To this they will readily answer, that it is a good book, 
a large book, an interesting book, etc. The teacher then calls on 
them to name as many words as they can, that express the qualities 
of objects. As they proceed to enumerate words of this class, the 
teacher writes them in a column on the board as before. 

Such expressions as "These books," "A wise man," " Ten 
2 



12 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

days," are next written on the board ; and the learners are requested 
to point out the words which serve to define or limit the nouns, but 
do not strictly qualify them. After this is done, they proceed to 
mention others of the same character, which are written under the 
column of qualifying words already commenced. It is now time to 
inform them that all words which are used to qualify or define nouns, 
belong to the class called Adjectives; and this title, is accordingly 
placed at the head of the column of words on the board. 

The pupils may also be told in this connection, that the words a or 
an and the are distinguished from other definitives by the title of 
Articles, 

Simple sentences are again placed before the pupils, and they are 
required to select all the adjectives, writing them in a column as 
before. They should also distinguish the articles, by underlining 
them in the column. 

•. Model IV. 

Great men are not always wise. — The climate of Egypt is hot in' summer, 
. but delightful in winter. - 

Adjectives. 

Great 
Wise 
The 

.Hot 

• Delightful 

Other sentences are now given to the pupils, from which they 
select the nouns and adjectives, writing them in separate columns, 
and distinguishing the articles as in the previous exercise. 

Model V. 
There are very few plants that will grow in all countries. — Ivory is a hard, 
solid, and firm substance, of a white color. . 

Nouns. - Adjectives. 

'' Plants Few 

Countries All 

Ivory A 
Substance 



Color . ?ard 

Solid 
Firm 
_A 

White 






ORAL INSTRUCTION. 13 

The teacher next writes a number of adjectives on the board, and 
the pupils proceed as before to form the sentences which embrace 

them. 

Model VI. 
Diligent, cold, warm, sweet. 
Charles is a diligent scholar. — In cold weather we protect ourselves 
by the use of warm clothing. — The rose is sweet, but it is surrounded 
with thorns.- 

After this, the pupils write sentences containing adjectivesr <$ their 
own selection. In exercises of this character, the learner^ should 
distinguish all the parts of speech to which they have attended, by 
their several abbreviations. 

Model VII. 

n ar adj n adj n 

Copper is a very useful metal ; which is found in almost all parts of 
ar n ar adj n adj n 

the world. It is of* a red color, and may be drawn, out into fine wire, 

adj n 
or beaten into thin leaves. 



THE VERB. 

This part of speech may be introduced in a manner similar to that 
exhibited in the following dialogue : — 

Teacher. What part of speech is horse ? 

Pupil. A noun. 

T. Why? 

P. Because it is a name. 

T. Can you think of any words that tell what the horse does? 

P. Runs, walks, etc. 

T. Are runs and walks nouns ? 

P. They are not. 

T. Why not? 

P. Because they are not names. 

T. Are they adjectives ? 

P. They are not. 

T. Why not? 

P. Because they do not qualify or define anything. 

T. Will you name as many words as you can recollect, that tell 
what anything does, or express some kind of action ? 

P. Speak, read, study, sing, play, etc. 



14 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

These words are written in a column on the board, after which 
the dialogue is continued : — 

T. In the sentence, " The sea is calm," does the word is express 
any degree of action? 
P. It does not. 

T. Does it express the being or existence of anything 1 
P. It does. 

T. Can you name any other words that are used to express the 
being or existence of objects ? 
P. Am, was, live, etc. 

These words are placed under the column already commenced on 
the board, and the pupils are informed that all words which express 
action, and those which express being or existence, are called verbs. 

A number of sentences are next placed before the pupils, from 
which they select all the verbs, writing them by themselves as in 
previous exercises. 

Model VIII. 
Birds fly in the air. — The earth shook and trembled. — Boston is the capi- 
tal of Massachusetts. — I wrote a letter to my friend last weekj and received 
an answer this morning. 

Verbs. 

Fly 

Shook 

Trembled 

Is 

"Wrote 

Received 

Other sentences are now given to the learners, from which they 
select all the nouns, adjectives, and verbs ; writing them in separate 
columns, and distinguishing the articles. 

Model IX. 
He came in the morning, and went away at night. — Truth never fears 
examination. — Venus is the brightest of all the planets. It is sometimes 
visible at mid-day. 



Nouns. 


Adjectives. 


Verbs. 


Morning 


The 


Came 


Night 




Went 


Truth 


The 


Fears 


Examination 


Brightest 


Is 


Venus 


All 


Is 


Planets 


The 




Mid-day 







Visible 



ORAL INSTRUCTION. 15 

Several verbs are next placed before the learners, and they are 
required to form sentences which include them. See Models II. and 
VI. 

After this, the pupils write sentences containing several verbs of 
their own choice ; and distinguish all the verbs, adjectives, and nouns. 

Model X. 

ar n ar n v n v n 

In the spring the farmer ploughs his ground and sows his seed ; in 
ar n n v n ar n 

the summer and autumn he gathers his harvest ; and in the winter he 

v n v n 

cuts his wood and threshes his grain. 

The teacher should make frequent suggestions and explanations 
during these exercises. It is highly important that learners become 
thoroughly acquainted with the nature of verbs, before advancing to 
consider the other parts of speech. 



THE PRONOUN. 

Teacher. In the sentence, " John is diligent, and he will improve," 
for what name does the word he stand 1 

Pupil. John. 

T. Can you mention any other names for which he is sometimes 
used '? 

P. George, Charles, man, boy, etc. 

T. For what nouns does she stand 1 

P. Jane, Susan, girl, woman, etc. 

T. What words besides he and she are used in the place of nouns ? 

P. Him, her, I, who, etc. 

These words are written on the board, under the title of Pronouns; 
and the pupils are informed that this term applies to all words which 
are used to supply the place of nouns. 

Sentences are now placed before the learners, from which they 
select all the pronouns, writing them in a column by themselves. 
See Models I. and IV. 

Other sentences are also given them, from which they select all 
the nouns, adjectives, verbs, and pronouns, writing them in columns 
as before. See Models V. and IX. 
2* 



16 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

After this, the teacher writes several pronouns on the board, and 
the pupils form sentences embracing them. See Models II. and VI. 

They then write sentences including a number of pronouns of their 
own choice. 

Model XI. 

ar n v ar n pro v 

When the wind blows violently among the trees, they bend, and 
v pro n v adj pro 

almost break. Though their roots are very strong, they sometimes 

v ar n ar n to ar n 

yield to the force of the wind, and fall to the ground. 

In this manner the pupils secure by frequent repetition what they 
have before learned, and also cultivate habits of careful comparison 
and discrimination, by examining the different parts of speech in con- 
nection. 



THE ADVERB. 

Teacher. In the sentence, " The horse runs very rapidly,'' what 
word tells how the horse runs ? 

Pupil. Rapidly. 

T. What word, then, does rapidly modify? 

P. Runs. 

T. What part of speech is runs ? 

P. A verb. 

T. What word in the sentence modifies rapidly ? 

P. Very. 

T. In the sentence, " He is an exceedingly diligent scholar," 
what word modifies diligent ? 

P. Exceedingly. 

T. What part of speech is diligent ? 

P. An adjective. 

T. The words rapidly, exceedingly, and very, all belong to the 
same class, and are called A dverbs. Rapidly modifies nverb; exceed- 
ingly modifies an adjective ; and very modifies an adverb. Remem- 
ber, then, that all words which modify verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, 
belong to the class of Adverbs. 

T. Can you think of any other words that are used in this 
manner ? 

P. Wisely, here, now, when, etc 



ORAL INSTRUCTION. 17 

These words are written in another column on the board, and 
headed Adverbs. When this is done, sentences are again placed 
before the pupils, from which they select all the adverbs, (Models I. 
and IV. ;) and others from which they select all the nouns, adjectives, 
verbs, pronouns, and adverbs. See Models V. and IX. 

The teacher next writes a number of adverbs on the board, and 
the learners form sentences which embrace them. See Models II. 
and VI. 

After this, they construct sentences containing adverbs selected by 
themselves, and distinguish all the parts of speech to which they 
have attended, as in former exercises. See Models VII., X. , and XI. 



THE PREPOSITION. 

Teacher. When I say, " My hand is over the table," what word 
expresses the relation of my hand to the table ? 

Pupil. Over. 

T. When I say, " My hand is under the table," what word then 
expresses the relation between my hand and the table I 

P. Under. 

T. Mention any other words that express the relation of different 
things, to each other. 

P. On, between, in, above, etc. 

These words are written in a column on the board, and headed 
Prepositions. The pupils are told at the same time, that every word 
which is used to express the relation of one word to another, belongs 
to this class. 

Sentences are now given to the pupils, from which they select the 
prepositions ; and others, from which they select all the classes of 
words which they have learned. See Models VIII. and IX. 

They then proceed to construct sentences containing prepositions 
assigned by the teacher; and others embracing examples of their 
own selection. See Models VI. and XI. 



THE CONJUNCTION. 

Teacher. In the sentence, " I saw James or his brother," what 
word connects James and brother ? 
Pupil. Or. 



IS ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

T. What word connects the different parts or clauses of the sen- 
tence, u James went to school, but John remained at home / ? ,, 

P. But. 

T. Can you think of any other words that are used to connect 
words, or clauses of a sentence ? 

P. And, nor, if, etc. 

These words are written on the board in a column headed Con- 
junctions ; and the pupils are told that all words used merely as 
connectives, belong to this class. 

They are then required to select all the conjunctions from given 
sentences ; and afterwards to write sentences containing conjunctions, 
and others embracing all the parts of speech which they have yet 
learned. See previous Models. 



THE INTERJECTION. 

Teacher, In the expression, " Alas ! I am undone," what word 
is used merely to express strong feeling or emotion ? 

Pupil. Alas. 

T. Can you name any other words that are used to express 
strong or sudden emotion ? 

P. Oh, ah, ho, etc. 

These words are written in a column on the board ; and the pupils 
are told that they form a class called Interjections. They are then 
directed to write a few sentences containing examples of this part of 
speech. 



GENERAL EXERCISES ON ALL THE PARTS OF SPEECH. 

Having considered the several classes of words separately, the 
learners are now prepared to take up a variety of selections from their 
reading lessons, and classify the different words as they occur ; writ- 
ing those of each part of speech in a column by themselves. See 
Models V. and IX. 

They should also devote several lessons to the writing of sentences 
which embrace copious examples of all the parts of speech ; placing 
an abbreviation over each word, to indicate the class to which it 
belongs. See Models X. and XL 

All exercises of this kind should be made progressive. From sim- 



ORAL INSTRUCTION. 19 

pie sentences, the learners should advance to the construction of those 
which are more difficult ; from difficult sentences, to short compo- 
sitions ; and from short compositions to those of greater length. 

By pursuing the course here described, the pupils will soon become 
familiar with the nature of words in common use, and be able to 
classify them with facility. 



MORE PARTICULAR EXAMINATION OF THE PARTS 
OF SPEECH. 
The subdivisions of the parts of speech, and their most important 
offices, may now be brought under consideration. 

Nouns. . 

The distinction between proper and common nouns, and the dis- 
tinctions of gender, person, number, and case, may be severally intro- 
duced by familiar interrogative exercises, similar to those which have 
already been given to aid in distinguishing the parts of speech. 

As soon as the pupils understand the nature of proper and common 
nouns, they may be required to select all the nouns from given sen- 
tences, writing the proper nouns in one column and the common 
nouns in another. They should then construct sentences which 
embrace examples of both proper and common nouns. (See previ- 
ous Models.) The other distinctions of nouns maybe illustrated and 
enforced by similar exercises. 

Adjectives. 

The degrees of comparison are now taken up, and made the basis 
of a familiar oral exercise. The distinction between descriptive and 
definitive adjectives should also receive some farther attention. 
These distinctions are next exemplified in written exercises. 

Verbs. 

The verb is the most difficult and important of all the parts of 
speech, and the teacher should make special effort to impart clear and 
correct views respecting its principal uses. 

The assertion or affirmation expressed by the verb, may now be 
explained to the young learner. 

The division of verbs into regular and irregular, and into transitive 



20 ORAL INSTRUCTION. 

and intransitive, with the distinction between the active and the pas- 
sive voice, should be introduced and illustrated by practical inductive 
exercises. 

The government of the objective case by a transitive verb, and the 
agreement of a verb with its subject or nominative, may be explained 
in this connection. 

The writing of illustrative sentences, on the part of the pupils, 
follows next in order. See previous Models. 

It is generally better not to attempt a full exhibition of the modes 
and tenses, till pupils have advanced farther in the study. They 
should, however, be taught at this period to distinguish between 
declarator]/, conditional, and interrogative sentences ; and to deter- 
mine whether the time denoted by a verb is present, past, or future. 

A general idea of participles, and of auxiliary and compound verbs, 
may also be communicated at this time. 

Each of these subjects should be explained in the familiar, conver- 
sational manner already described ; and accompanied by practical 
exercises in the construction of sentences. 

Pronouns, Prepositions, and Conjunctions. 

The remaining points which ' demand special consideration in 
these introductory lessons, are the division of pronouns into personal, 
relative, and interrogative, together with the person, number, and case 
of pronouns ; the connection of words and sentences by conjunctions ; 
and the relation expressed by prepositions. These modifications, 
like those before presented, should be introduced in a familiar and 
practical manner, and made the basis of exercises in the construction 
of* illustrative sentences. 

Before closing this course of lessons, the learners should perform 
several exercises in composition, exemplifying- all the important prin- 
ciples to which they have attended. The first exercise may embrace 
the different modifications of the noun; the second, those of the 
adjective ; the third, those of the verb ; the fourth, those of the pro- 
noun ; and the fifth, the principles relating to the remaining parts of 
speech. 

Model XII. 

Modifications of the noun. 
I am highly gratified, my dear friend, to learn of your safe return 
from Ohio. My brother and sister expect to leave Boston in about two 



ORAL INSTRUCTION. 21 

weeks. They will spend a few days at Springfield, in compliance with 
your father's kind invitation.— L Thomas Smith, have written this 
short composition. ■ 

Common Nouns. — Friend, return, brother, sister, weeks, days, com- 
pliance, father's, invitation, composition. 

Proper Nouns. — Ohio, Boston, Springfield, Thomas Smith. 

Nouns in the Masculine Gender. — Brother, father's, Thomas Smith. 

Noun in the Feminine Gender. — Sister. 

Nouns in the Neuter Gender: — Return, Ohio, Bosfon,- weeks, .'days, 
Springfield, compliance, invitation, composition. 

Noun in the Common Gender. — Friend. 

Noun in the First Person. — Thomas Smith. 

Noun in the Second Person. — Friend. 

Nouns in the Third Person.— Return, Ohio, brother, sister, Boston, 
weeks, days, Springfield, compliance, father's, invitation, compo- 
sition. , • 

Nouns in ' the Singular Number. — Friend,, return, Ohio, brother, sis- 
ter, Boston, Springfield, compliance, father's, invitation, Thomas 
Smith, composition. 

Nouns in the Plural Number, —Weeks, days. 

Nouns in the Nominative Case. — Brother, sister, Thomas Smith. 

Noun in the Possessive Case. — Father's. 

Nouns in the Objective Case.— Return, Ohio, Boston, weeks, days. 
Springfield, compliance, invitation, composition. 

Nctunin the. Case Independent,- — Friend. ' % '. 

After the pupils have in this manner. exemplified the various modi- 
fications of all the parts of speech, they should be required to write 
several compositions of considerable length, and parse each word by 
itself.. Thus, hx- parsing a noun, the learner should tell why it is a ; 
noun; whether, it is proper or common, and why; its. gender, and 
why ; person, and why ; number, and why ; case, and why. If it 
is in the nominative case, he should point out the verb of which it is 
the subject ; if in the possessive, the noun denoting the object pos- 
sessed ; if in the objective, the word which governs it. A similar 
course should be adopted in parsing all the other parts of speech. 



22 



ENGLISH GRAMMAR 



Grammar is the science which treats of the principles 
of language. 

English Grammar teaches the art of speaking and 
writing the English Language correctly. 

Grammar is divided into four parts : — Orthography, 
Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody. 

Orthography treats of letters, and the proper method 
of combining them to form syllables and words. 

Etymology treats of the classification of words, their 
derivation, and their various modifications. 

Syntax treats of the construction of sentences, accord- 
ing to the established laws of speech. 

Prosody treats of accent, quantity, and the laws of 
versification. 



PART I. 

ORTHOGRAPHY. 

Orthography treats of letters, and the proper method 
of combining them to form syllables and words. 

LETTERS. 
A letter is a mark or character used to represent an 
elementary sound of the human voice. 

The word letter, like many other terms used in orthography, is often 
applied to the sound represented, as well as the written character. 

The letters of a language, taken collectively, are called its Alpha- 

What is grammar? What does English grammar teach? How is 
grammar divided? Of what does Orthography treat ? Etymology? 
Syntax ? Prosody ? What is a letter ? What are the letters of a lan- 
guage called ? 



ORTHOGRAPHY. — ALPHABET. 



23 



bet. The English alphabet consists of twenty-six letters, which have 
the following different forms : — 

Roman. Italic. Old English. Script. 

Capital. Small. Capital. Small. Capital. Small. Capital. Small. Names. 



A 


a 


A 


a 


m 


a 


i^/& 


a 


A. 


B 


b 


B 


b 


M 


ii 


d 


i 


Bee. 


C 


c 


C 


c 


© 


c 


<r 





See. 


D 


d 


D 


d 


D 


ti 


m 


<t 


Dee. 


E 


e 


E 


e 


m 


e 


& 


e 


E. 


F 


f 


F 


f 


& 


t 


3? 


/ 


Eff. 


G 


g 


G 


g 


@ 


S 


% 


f 


Jee. 


H 


h 


H 


h. 


m 


ij 




a 


Aitch. 


I 


i 


I 


i 


$ 


t 


J? 





I. 


J 


i 


J 


3 


■ 3 


i 


J 


/ 


Jay. 


K 


k 


K 


k 


n 


ft 


3? 


6 


Kay. 


L 


1 


L 


I 


a 


i 


j§? 


I 


Ell. 


M 


m 


M 


m 


m 


m 


*srf% 


m 


Em. 


N 


n 


N 


n 


w 


n 


*¥- 


n, 


En. 














© 





e 


e 


0. 


P 


P 


P 


P 


m 


9 


0i 


A 


Pee. 


Q 


<1 


Q 


9. 


<©, 


5 


'&■ 


$ 


Kue. 


R 


r 


R 


r 


it 


V 


m> 


i. 


Ar. 


s 


s 


S 


s 


s 


u 


s? 


tS 


Ess. 


T 


t 


T 


t 


2c 


t 


ir 


t 


Tee. 


TJ 


u 


U 


u. 


m 


u 


u 


U 


U. 


V 


V 


V 


V 


V ' 


it 


V 


V 


Vee. 


W 


w 


w 


w 


asa 


to 


w 


to 


Double-u. 


X 


X 


X 


X 


X 


V 


3? 


a? 


Eks. 


Y 


y 


Y 


y 


sr 


2 


f 


jt 


Wy. 


Z 


z 


z 


z 


% 


f 


3C 


z 


Zee. 



24 CAPITALS AND ITALICS. 

JJand v were formerly considered the same letter, and were used in- 
discriminately, the one for the other j as, haue for have, and chvrch for 
church. 

The sounds of i and j were both originally represented by the letter i ; 
as, lames for James. 

When the diphthongs a and # have either of the sounds of e, the let- 
ters are united in printing. 

Examples : — iEgis, diaeresis, (Esophagus, antoeci. 



CAPITALS AND ITALICS. 

The folio wing classes of words should commence 
with capital letters : — 

1. The first word of a sentence. 

2. The first word of every line in poetry. 

3. The first word of a direct quotation. 

Examples : ■ — And Nathan said unto David, " Thou art the man." 
— Remember the ancient maxim, ".Know thyself." 
An indirect quotation may be introduced without the use of a capital. 

Example : — It is recorded of him who " spake three thousand 
proverbs," that " his songs were a thousand and five." 

4. Words used as names of the Deity. 

Examples : — u Our .Father, who art in Heaven." — " Remember 
now thy Creator, in the days of thy youth." 

5. Proper names and titles of honor or distinction. 

Examples : — The city of Boston j — The .Honorable Daniel TTeb- 
ster ; — Sir Matthew Hale ; — Pliny the Founger. 

6. Common nouns personified. 

Examples : — " If Pain comes into a heart, he is quickly followed 
by Pleasure ; and if Pleasure enters, you may be sure that Pain 
is not far off." — Addison. 

" And Discipline at length, 
O'erlooked and unemployed, fell sick and died. 
Then Study languished, .Emulation slept, 
And Firtue fled." — Corvper. 

What are the several classes of words which commence with capitals ? 



ORTHOGRAPHY. CAPITALS AND ITALICS. 25 

7. Every important word in a phrase used as a title 
or caption. 

Examples : — " Prescott's .History of the Conquest of ilfexico ; " — 
" Flrtue the only true Source of JVbbility ; " — " The American 
.Board of Commissioners for .Foreign .Missions ; " — " The IVew 
Fork JTistorical Society; " — " The American Re volution. " 

The pronoun / and the interjection O should also be 
written in capitals. 

Examples : — " Must / endure all this ? " — « Come forth, O ye chil- 
dren of gladness, come ! " 

Most adjectives derived from proper names should commence with 
capitals. 

Examples : — "A Grecian education was considered necessary to 
form the .Soman orator, poet, or artist." — Whelpley. "The 
Copernican System is that which is held to be the true system of 
the world." — Olmsted. 

A personal pronoun referring to the Deity, is sometimes com- 
menced with a capital. 

Examples : — " All that we possess is God's, and we are under ob- 
ligation to use it all as He wills." — Wayland. 

" Will He not hear thee 
Who the young ravens heareth from their nest ? 
Will He not guard thy rest ? " — Hemans. 

There are also numerous cases in which words may commence 
either with capitals or small letters, according to the taste of the 
writer. 

Short, detached pieces of writing, are often composed entirely of 
capitals. For examples, see title-pages, heads of chapters and sec- 
tions, monumental inscriptions, cards, etc. 

Italic letters are those which stand inclining. (See 
the Alphabet, p. 23.) This sentence is printed in Italics. 

[The questions and directions which are printed in Italics, are de- 
signed to be omitted by beginners.] 

What two words of one letter are always written and printed m cap- 
itals ? What pieces of writing are often composed entirely of capitals ? 
What are Italic letters ? 



26 CAPITALS AND ITALICS. 

When an author wishes to distinguish any particular 
word or phrase, for the sake of emphasis, or for any 
other purpose, it is generally printed in Italics. 

Examples : — " If we regard enunciation and pronunciation as the 
mechanical part of elocution ; inflection, emphasis, and pausing, 
may be designated as its intellectual part." — Russell. "To be 
perfectly polite, one must have great presence of mind, with a 
delicate and quick sense of propriety" — Mrs. Chapone. 

When a word is used merely as a word, it should generally be 
printed in Italics. 

Examples : — " The adjective same is often used as a substitute." — 
Webster. "Who is applied to persons, and which to animals 
and inanimate things." — Murray. 

Words and phrases introduced into English writings from foreign 
languages, are generally expressed in Italics. 

Examples : — " An adjournment sine die, is an adjournment with- 
out fixing the time of resuming business." — Webster's Diet. 
" The White Pine is, par excellence, a New England tree." — N. 

A. Review. 

Sentences of special importance, are often printed entirely in Italics. 
When a particular word, phrase, or sentence, is designed to be 
made still more conspicuous than it would be if expressed in Italics, 
it is printed in capitals. 

Examples: — "Observation and Experiment constitute the basis 
of the science of Mechanics." — Olmsted. u To the numerous 
class of young men in the United States, who are mainly de- 
pendent on their own resources for knowledge, or respectability, 
one of the most important counsels of wisdom which can be ad- 
dressed, is, Study your own character and prospects." — B. 

B. Edwards. 

When a word or phrase, embraced in an Italic sentence, is to be 
distinguished from the rest, it is generally printed in Roman letters. 
If it is particularly important, it should be expressed in capitals. 

Examples : — u The grand clew to all syntactical parsing, is the sense." 

For what purpose are they generally employed ? Select examples. 
Specify the several circumstances which require the use of Italics. How is a 
word or phrase rendered still more conspicuous than it would be if expressed 
in Italics ? How is a word or phrase distinguished from the rest, in an 
Italic sentence ? 



ORTHOGRAPHY. CAPITALS AND ITALICS. 27 

Q. Brown. " Hydrostatics is that branch of Natural Philos- 
ophy which treats of the mechanical properties and agencies of 
Liquids." — Olmsted. " To find the surface of a Regular Solid." 
— Day. 
In the common English version of the Scriptures, Italics are used 
to indicate those words which are not found in the original. 

Examples : — " After two days was the feast of the passover ;" — 
in the original, u After two days was the passover;" — " There 
are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest;" — in the 
original, " There are yet four months, and the harvest cometh." 

In writing, it is customary to underline such words 
as would be italicised in printing. 

Example. 
<e J/t ck>&) not de&m fiaddtvfej eveit a/tet 

tAe- te<)tcm&n>u 0/ owb denied." 

EXERCISES. 

[After studying attentively the rules respecting the use of Capitals 
and Italics, pupils should be required to select from other works a va- 
riety of examples to w r hich they respectively apply. The following 
directions will serve as a guide in performing this exercise. Those 
which are printed in Italics, are designed to be omitted by beginners.] 

Point out examples of words commencing with capitals at the 
beginning of a sentence; — at the beginning of a direct quotation. 
Select several names representing the Deity, which commence with 
capitals; — several examples of proper names and honorary titles. 
Examples of common nouns personified ; — of important words in a 
title or caption. Examples of the pronoun J and the interjection O. 
Examples of adjectives derived from proper names. Examples of short 
pieces of writing, printed entirely in capitals. 

Point out examples of important words and phrases, printed in 
Italics. Examples of entire sentences in Italics. Examples of words, 
phrases, and sentences, in capitals. Examples, in Italic sentences, of 
words and phrases printed in capitals or small Roman letters. Exam- 
ples of words used merely as words. Examples of foreign words and 

For what purpose are Italics employed in our translation of the Scriptures ? 
Select examples How are important words and phrases distinguished 
in writing ? 3^ 



28 VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. 

phrases employed in English writings. Examples of Italic ivords in 
the Scriptures. 

Write a sentence containing some prominent word or phrase, and 
distinguish it from the rest by underlining it. 



VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. 

The most general division of letters is into vowels 
and consonants. 

A vowel* is a letter which represents a free and 
uninterrupted sound of the human voice. The vowels 
are a, e. i : o 7 n, and sometimes w and y. 

A consonant]' is a letter which represents a sound 
that is materially modified by some interruption during 
its passage through the organs of speech. 

The consonants are b, c, d : f, g,j, k, I, m, n,p, q : r, 
s, t, v, x, z, and sometimes 10 and y. H, which is a 
simple breathing, is also classed with the consonants.J 

What is the most general division of letters ? What is a vowel ? 
Enumerate the vowels. What is a consonant ? Enumerate the con- 
sonants. 

* "A vowel is an utterance of the voice receiving its peculiar character from 
the position of the organs ; and a consonant is an action of the organs of 
speech accompanied by breath or voice." — Smart. 

"A vowel is an elemental sound which maybe formed without bringingthe 
articulating organs into contact Avithany part of the mouth. A consonant is 
an elemental sound which cannot be formed but by some contact between the 
parts of the mouth." — Day. See also Walker's Principles of English Pro- 
nunciation, Webster's Dictionary, and Wright's Orthography. 

+ A consonant has commonly been defined " a letter which cannot be per- 
fectly sounded without the aid of a vowel ;" but this seems not to be the true 
idea of this class of letters. In pronouncing a syllable commencing with a 
consonant, a distinct sound is always uttered before the. vowel sound is com- 
menced ; and Ave have many syllables in which the vowel, though written, is 
not heard at all in pronunciation, as in the words taken, burdened, which 
are pronounced, lak-n, burd-nd. There are instances also in which a con- 
sonant is sounded as a distinct syllable, without the use even of a written 
voAvel, as in the Avords chas-m, rhyth-m. 

The etymology of the term consonant, (sounding with,) seems to have 
misled many ■ grammarians, and thus aided in perpetuating the error here 
alluded to. 

t ,: The claims of A to be regarded as a letter have been denied by many 



ORTHOGRAPHY. CONSONANTS AND DIPHTHONGS. 29 

Wis a consonant when it is not preceded by a vowel in the same 
syllable ; as in win, swift, thwart. 

Wis usually considered as a vowel, when it follows another vowel 
in the same syllable ; as in new, how. 

Y is a consonant when it begins a syllable, and is immediately 
followed by a vowel in the same syllable ; as in yet, youth. 

In all other cases y is a vowel ; as in very, rhyme, beryl. 

Vowel sounds are called open or close, according to the relative 
size of the opening through which the voice passes in forming them. 
Thus, a in father, and o in nor, are called open sounds, because they 
are formed by a wide opening of the organs of speech ; while e in me, 
and u in rule, are called close sounds, because the organs are nearly 
closed in uttering them. 

Two vowels combined in the same syllable^ are called 
a diphthong : as in coil. 

A diphthong in which both vowels are sounded, is called a proper 
diphthong ; as in oil, boy. 

A diphthong in which only one of the vowels is sounded, is called 
an improper diphthong, or digraph; as in rain, eat, believe. 

Three vowels combined in the same syllable, are 
called a triphthong ; as in eye, awe, lieu, beauty. 

Those consonant sounds which are formed by the vocal organs 
during the passage of a mere breathing, are called aspirates. They 
are represented by p in map, t in hut, k in book, fin. fine, s in see, th 
in thin, sh in ash, ch in church, and h in hero. 

When is w a consonant ? Examples. When a vowel ? Examples. 
When is y a consonant ? Examples. When a vowel ? Examples. Ex- 
plain the terms open and close, as applied to vowels. Define a diphthong 
Examples. A proper diphthong. Examples. An improper diphthong. 
Examples. A triphthong. Examples. What consonants are called as- 
pirates ? Enumerate them. 

grammarians ; and certainly, when it is remembered that the sound of this 
letter is produced by a mere emission of the breath, without any conformation, 
of the organs of speech, this opinion would seem well founded. There are 
others, however, who insist that there is no feature in the sound or qualities 
of this letter, which it does not possess in common with some other conso- 
nants, and consequently any attempt to invalidate its claim to thedistinction s 
militates equally against them." — Branded Enc. 



30 ORTHOGRAPHY. VOWELS. 

The cognate or corresponding sounds, which are respectively 
formed by a similar disposition of the organs, during the passage of 
the voice, are called vocal consonants. They are represented by b in 
but, d in did, g in go, v in vain, z in zero, th in that, z in azure, and 
j in just. In a natural whisper these sounds cannot, of themselves, 
be readily distinguished from the corresponding aspirates. iZ"has no 
cognate. 

( Vocal b, d, g, v, z* thj z,§ j. 
Cognates, < :::::::: 

( Aspirate p, t, k, f, s, th,% sh, ch. 

The remaining sounds, m in man, n in no, ng in sing, I in look, 
r in race, w in world, and y in youth, though produced by the voice, 
may also be distinctly uttered in a whisper. They are hence called 
intermediate or neutral consonants. In forming the first three of 
these, — m, n, and ng, — the voice is made to pass principally 
through the nose, and they are on this account called nasal conso- 
nants. 

An aspirate and a vocal consonant cannot easily be pronounced in 
immediate combination. Hence, when they occur together in writing, 
one is generally changed, in pronunciation, into its cognate or corre- 
sponding sound. Thus, looked, dropped, confessed, are pronounced lootft, 
drop't, confesH. 

A neutral consonant will readily unite in pronunciation with either 
an aspirate or a vocal consonant ; as in mend, meant ; shelve, shelf. 



SOUNDS OF THE LETTERS. 

[ In performing the exercises which accompany the elementary 
sounds, the pupil should first pronounce one of the words containing a 
given element, and then utter distinctly the elementary sound by itself. 
The other examples should be uttered successively, in the same manner.] 

Wliat are vocal consonants ? Enumerate them. What aspirate is the 
cognate of hi — of d ? — of gin go ? — of v ? — of z in zero ? — of th in 
that? — of z in azure? — of] in just? Which of the aspirates has no 
cognate ? What are intermediate or neutral consonants ? Enumerate 
them. Which are the nasal consonants ? Why so called? 

*Zm zero, t Th in that, t Th in thin. § Z in azure, 



VOWELS. 31 

VOWELS. 

A has six sounds : — 

1. Long ; as in late, base. 

Exercise: — Vale, a; hale, a; mane, a; pace, a; lade, a; 
safe, a; range, a; ancient, a; display, a; relate, a. 

2* Grave ; as in father. 

Exercise: — Mart, a; art, a; star, a; large, a; calm, a; 
alarm, a. 

3. Broad ; as in fall, walk. 

Exercise: — AW, a; call, a; hall, a; talk, a; war, a; malt, a; 

altar, a; water, a. 

4. Short ; as in man, hat. 

Exercise: — An, a; can, a; lad, a; sat, a; and, a; catch, a; 
carry, a; began, a. 

5. The sound heard in care, hare.* 

Exercise: — Rare, a; fare, a; glare, a; careful, a; ensnare, a. 

6. Intermediate between the short and the grave; as in grass, 
pass, branch. Many persons pronounce this a incorrectly, giving it 
either the grave or the short sound. f 

Exercise: — Fast, a; ant, a; glass, a; prance, a; glance, a. 

What are the different sounds o/a? Giv e^ an example of each ; pro- 
nouncing first a word which contains it, and then the elementary sound by 
itself. 

* Walker, Webster, Sheridan, Fulton and Knight, Kenrick, Jones, and 
Nares, give to a in care the long sound of a, as in late. Page and Day give 
it the short sound of a, as in mat. See Page's Normal Chart and Day's Art 
I of Elocution. 

Worcester and Perry make the sound of a in care a separate element ; and 
this distinction is also recognized by Russell, Mandeville, and Wright. See 
Russell's Lessons in Enunciation, Mandeville's Elements of Reading and 
Oratory, and Wright's Orthography. 

t Perry, Jones, Nares, Wehster, and Day, give to a in grass the grave 
sound, as in father; while Walker, Jameson, and Russell, give it the short 
sound, as in man. But good speakers generally pronounce a in grass, plant, 
etc., as a distinct element, intermediate between the grave and the short 
sound. 

u To pronounce the words fast, last, g-lass, grass, dance, etc., with the 
proper sound of short a as in hat, has the appearance of affectation ; and to 
pronounce them with the full Italian sound of a as in part, father, seems to 
border on vulgarity." — Worcester. This view is also adopted by Smart, the 



64 ORTHOGRAPHY. VOWELS. 

A is also employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of o short ; as, what. 

(2) The sound of e short ; as, many. 

E has three sounds : — 

1 . Long ; as in me, complete. 

Exercise: — We, e; he, e; scene, e; mete, e; scheme, e; 
supreme, e. 

2. Short ; as in let, men. 

Exercise: — Fell, e; egg, e; pet, e; well, e; bless, e; ten, e; 
preface, e; forget, e. 

3. Obtuse ; as in her, fertile.* 

Exercise: — Term, e; fern, e; pert, e; mercy, e; alert, e; 
internal, e. 

E is also employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of a in care; as, there, where 

(2) The sound of short i; as, .England. 

E is often silent, especially at the end of a word. 

I has two sounds : — 
1. Long ; as in pine, fine, excite. 

This sound consists of two simple elements ; the first of which is 
nearly the sound of a in past, and the second that of short i. 

Exercise: — Zee, i; time, i; kind, i; ire, i; ripe, i; idle, i; 
incline, i. 

What are the sounds of el Give examples of each. What are the vowel 
sounds 0/i? Give examples of each. 

most discriminating and accurate of modern English orthoepists, and by Ful- 
ton and Knight. The following is the language employed by Smart: — 
" Surely, in a case like this, there can be no harm in avoiding the censure of 
both parties by shunning the extreme that offends the taste of each ; and this 
medium sound in the case in question, may safely be affirmed to be the one 
actually in use by the best speakers." 

* " Those who can perceive a difference between the sounds of a and o in 
the words far, cart, nor, border, and the proper short sounds of these letters 
in fat, carry, not, borrow, will not find it difficult to perceive an analogous 
difference between the sounds of e in learn, verse, mercy, and in men, very, 
merry; of i in Jlr, bird, and in pin, mirror; of u in hurdle, turn, and in tun, 
hurry; ofyin myrtle, and in lyric. These vowels have all nearly or quite 



VOWELS. 33 

2. Short ; as in pit, live. 

Exercise: — 7n, i; his, i; dip, i; fix, i; wish, i; since, i; 
intend, i; begin, i. 

/is also employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of long e; as, machine, police. 

(2) The sound of e in her; as bird, affirm. 

/ is sometimes employed to represent the consonant sound of y ; 
as in filial, christian, union, alien. 

O has three sounds : — 

1 . Long ; as in note, remote. 

Exercise : — Old, o ; tone, o ; globe, o ; hose, o ; rode, o ,- post, 
o; sofa, o. 

2. Short; as in not, folly. 

Exercise: — Stop, o; odd, o; lot, o; clock, o; doctrine, o. 

3. Close ; as in move, approve. 

Exercise: — Do, o; to, o; improve, o. £ 

O is also employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of a in fall; as, nor, fortune. 

(2) The sound of e in her ; as, world, attorney. 

(3) The sound of short i; as, women. 

(4) The sound of short u; as, son, done. 

(5) The sound t)f« in full; as, wolf. 

In one and some of its derivatives, o has the sound of short u, pre- 
ceded by the consonant sound of w. 

U has three sounds : — 

1 . Long ; as in tune, lute, juvenile. 

This sound is usually regarded as diphthongal. The first of its ele- 

What consonant sound does i represent ? Examples. Wliat are the sounds 
of o ? Give examples of each. 

the same sound, as will be perceived in the words her, sir, fur, myrrh, herd, 
bird, surd; but their proper short sounds are widely different, when followed 
by r, as well as by other consonants, as in merry, mirror, Murray." — Wor- 
cester. See also Smart's Principles of Pronunciation, Mandeville's Beading 
and Oratory, and Barber's Grammar of Elocution. 



34 ORTHOGRAPHY. DIPHTHONGS. 

ments resembles the sound of e long, rapidly pronounced. The second 
is similar to the sound of o in move, but somewhat closer. 

For the sake of greater ease in pronunciation, the consonant sound 
of y is, in many cases, prefixed to the long sound of u ; as in use, unite, 
universe. 

Exercise: — Due, u; assume, u; reduce, u; zmion, u; use- 
ful, u; educate, u; opulent, u. 

2. Short ; as in run, shutter. 

Exercise: — ~Bu&, u; us, u ; shut, u; dust, u; dumb, u; 
rebuff, u. 

3. Middle ; as in full, bush. 

Exercise: — Put, u; push, u; pulley, u; cwshion, u. 

U is also employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of e in her; as, hum, furl. 

(2) The sound of short e ; as, bury. 

(3) The sound of short i ; as, busy. 

(4) The sound of b in move; as, true, rude. 

U has sometimes the consonant sound of rv ; as in persuade, languid. 

W is never used%s a vowel, except when it forms a part of a diph- 
thong. See Diphthongs. 

Y, as a vowel, is employed to represent, — 

(1) The sound of long i; as, thyme. Thyme* 

(2) The sound of short i ; as, hymn, crystal. 

(3) The sound of e in her; as, myrrh, myrtle. 

In unaccented syllables, the vowel sounds are often so much obscured 
as to be hardly distinguishable. The following examples will serve to 
illustrate this remark : — alt&r, alter, murmur, martyr. 



DIPHTHONGS. 

The word ay, signifying yes, is a proper diphthong. The first of 
its component sounds is that of a in father, and the second that of 
short i. It is often written aye. 

What are the sounds of u ? Give examples of each. What vowel sound 
does y represent ? Give examples of each. What are the component sounds 
of the proper diphthong ay ? 



CONSONANTS. 35 

Oi is generally used as a proper diphthong. It is composed of a 
in all, and i in pit; as, toil, recoil. 

Ou, when used as a proper diphthong, is composed of a in father, 
and o in move; as, house, arownd. 

Ow, when a proper diphthong, represents the sound of ou in 
bound; as, town, crowd. 

Oy represents the sound of the proper diphthong oi; as, boy, 
oyster. 

CONSONANTS. 

B has but one sound ; as in hut. 

Exercise: — Be, b; ooat, b; orb, b; oaro, b; douMe, b. 

B is generally silent after m and before t, in the same syllable ; as 
in dumb, debt. 

C, standing before a consonant, or before either of the vowels a, o, 
u, or at the end of a word, represents the sound of k ; as in care, 
conduct, athletic. 

Before e, i, and y, c generally represents the sound of s; as in cen- 
sus, city. 

Ce and ci, followed by another vowel, have often the sound of sh, as 
in ocean, social ; and sometimes of she, as in associate, oceanic. 

C has in some words the sound of z ; as in sacrifice, suffice. 

E is sometimes used after c, merely to give it the soft sound, as in 
lace, peaceable, practice ; and u, in like manner, to give it the hard sound, 
as in circuit. 

C is sometimes silent ; as in czar, muscle, indict. 

Ch has generally the sound heard in church. But in Scripture 
proper names, with the exception of Rachel, in most words derived 
from the Greek, and in a few others, ch represents the sound of k; 
as in Enoch, Chaldea; — chorus, achromatic; — chemist, alchemy. 
In words derived from the French, ch represents the sound of sh ; as 
in chaise, chagrin. 

Ch is silent in drachm, yacht ; and in schism and its derivatives. 

Of what sounds is the proper diphthong oi composed ? Examples. Wliat 
sounds unite to form the proper diphthong out Examples. What sound 
is represented by the proper diphthong ow ? Examples. What sound is 
represented by the proper diphthong oy ? Examples. How many sounds 
has b ? Examples. What sounds is c used to re-present ? Give examples. 
Utter the principal sound of ch. What other sounds are represented by ch ? 
4 



36 ORTHOGRAPHY. CONSONANTS. 

D has the sound heard in did. 

Exercise: — Do, d; deep, d; aid, d; day, d; deduce, d; 
indeed, d. 

When the termination ed immediately follows an aspirate, and is not 
pronounced as a separate syllable, it represents the sound of t ; as in 
stopped, fixed. 

In the first syllables of Wednesday and stadtholder, d is silent. 

F has the sound heard in fate, scarf; except in of, where it repre- 
sents the sound of v. 

Exercise: — Fall,/; if, f; fife, f; field, f; sa/e,/; roo/,/. 

G, before a, o, and u, has a hard sound ; as in gate, gone. It 
is also hard before all the consonants, except g soft, as in glad; 
and at the end of a word, as in dog. 

Exercise:— Gay, g; gold, g; gone, g; log, g; gig, g; 
regain, g. 
Before e, i, and y , g usually represents the sound of j ; as in gin- 
ger, gypsum. 

In a few words adopted from the French and Italian, gn has the 
sound of ny ; as in vignette, pronounced vinyet. 

G is silent before m or n, in the same syllable ; as in phlegm, consign, 
gnomon. It is also silent in seraglio. 

Gh, at the beginning of a word, represents the sound of g hard ; 
as in ghost, ghastly. In other situations it is frequently silent ; as in 
thought, plough, 

Gh, at the end of a word, is sometimes pronounced like f, as in 
laugh, rough; and sometimes like g hard, as in burgh. 

If has the aspirate sound heard in he. 

Exercise: — J3at, h; home, h; Ziall, h; Aarm, h; beAave, h. 

H is sometimes silent j as in heir, hour, honest, rhomb. 

J has the sound heard in jar ; except in hallelujah, where it repre- 
sents the consonant sound of y . 

Exercise : — Joy, j ; just, j ; jar, j ; jolt, j ; judge, j. 

Utter the sound of d ; — the sound of f. What is the principal sound 
of g ? Give examples. Wliat other sound does g represent ? Give exam- 
ples. What sounds are represented by gh ? Give examples. Utter the 
sound of h ; -— the sound of j. 



CONSONANTS. 37 

K is invariably hard ; as in look. 

Exercise: — -King, k; kmo\, k; &eep, k; bul&, k; eVc, k. 

K is silent before n in the same syllable ; as in knife. In English 
words, k is never doubled ; but this combination occurs in a few Scrip- 
ture proper names ; as, Habakkuk, Bakbakkar, Hakkoz, Bukkiah. 

L has but one sound ; as in live, slow. 

Exercise: — Low, 1; Zark, I; Arte, I; fai/, /; fhw, /. 
L is sometimes silent before a consonant ; as in walk, calm. 

Mhas but one sound ; as in man. 

Exercise : — Aim, m ; me,m; home, m ; map, m ; murmur, m. 

M is silent when it stands at the beginning of a word, and is imme- 
diately followed by n ; as in mnemonic, Mnason. 

N has two sounds : — 

1. The sound heard in no, nine. 

Exercise: — On, n; nay, n; name, n; alone, n. 

2. The ringing sound heard in bank, thing, singing. 
Exercise: — Think, n; ink, n; brink, n; drank, n; thank, n. 

N is silent when it ends a syllable and is immediately preceded by 
m or I ; as in hymn, column, kiln. 

P has the sound heard in pine ; except in cupboard, where it rep- 
resents the sound of b. 

Exercise: — Pay, p; help, p ; post, p; harp, p; people, p. 
P is sometimes silent ; as in psalm, pneumatics, receipt. 

Ph generally represents the sound off; as in philosopher. In Ste- 
phen it is pronounced like v. 

In phthisic and its derivative phthisical, ph is silent. 

Q represents the sound of k, and is always followed by u, which, 
in this connection, generally has its consonant sound ; as in quiet, 
conquest. But in some cases, qu is pronounced like k simply ; as in 
conquer. 

Utter the sound of k ; — the sound of\-, — the sound of m. How many 
sounds has n ? Give examples. Examples of the sound of p. What 
sound is generally represented by ph ? What sound does q represent ? 



38 ORTHOGRAPHY. CONSONANTS. 

R* has the sound heard in rare. 

Exercise: — .Run, r; read, r; robe, r; trust, r; harm, r; 
war, r ,* absorb, r. 

5? has a sharp, hissing sound ; as in say. 

Exercise: — So, s; sage, s; thus, s; mist, s; exist, s. 
S is also used to represent the sound of z in zeal; as in rose, odds. 

When .s is immediately followed by the consonant sound of y, the 
two sounds combined are softened into the sound of sh, as in the words 
sure, censure, torsion ; or into the sound of z in azure, as in the words 
leisure, ambrosial. When s is doubled, both letters often take the sound 
of sh ; as in assure, passion. 

S is silent in isle, demesne, corps, and viscount. 

Thas the sound heard in tide. 

Exercise: — At, t; soft, t; ten, t ; £ime, t; intend, t. 
Ti, followed by a vowel, has usually the sound of sh, or she ; as in 
portion, partiality. 

T is occasionally silent -, as in christen, depot. 

Titter the sound of r. What sound has s ? Give examples. What other 
sound is represented by s ? Utter the sound of t. 

* The following quotations present a general view of the different opinions 
which exist among orthoepists respecting this letter: — 

li R has one constant sound in English." — Johnson. The same view is 
adopted by Webster, Perry, Kenrick, Sheridan, Jones, Jameson, Knowles, 
and others. 

" The rough sound of r is rather a rhetorical refinement, than an elementary 
sound." — Prazee. 

" Some have given the trilled r as an element. This is believed to be only 
a modification of the liquid r as heard in for. It may be trilled before a 
vocal element [vowel] in the same syllable, as in pray, practice. It should 
never be attempted in public, till it "can be trilled gracefully and with facil- 
ity. The excessive trilling of the r, as practised by some speakers, is a great 
fault." — Page's Normal Chart. 

" R initial, or before a vowel, is always hard, though not rolled. R final, 
or before a consonant, is always soft, but never silent." — Russell. See also 
Walker, Rush, and Barber. 

" R should be trilled when it precedes a vowel, as in roll, crush; but when 
it follows a vowel, as in air, orb, it should be made smooth." — Comstock. 

"In good metropolitan usage, this letter has its trilled consonant sound 
only when it begins, or is one of a combination of consonants that begin a 
syllable ; or when, finishing one syllable, it also begins the next : as in the 
following words, in which r is a real consonant and stops the vowel, as any 
other consonant would do under the same circumstances : ar-id, (equivalent 
to ar-rid,) ber-ry, spir-it, (equivalent to spir-rit,) sor-ry, cur-ry. But when 
r, finishing one word or syllable, does not also serve to articulate the next, it 
is merely a guttural vibration, having the character of a vowel more than of 
a consonant." — Smart. 



CONSONANTS. 39 

Th has two sounds : — 

1. Vocal ; as in then, they. 

Exercise: — This, th; though, th; beneath, th; other, th. 

2. Aspirate ; as in thing, thought. 

Exercise: — Throng, th; thin, th; theme, th; faith, th. 

V has but one sound ; as in vine. 

Exercise: — Fie, v; view, v; prove, v; cave, v. 

W, when a consonant, has but one sound ; as in way, swift. 
Exercise: — Wise, w; world, w; wander, w. 

W is sometimes silent ; as in write, whole, answer, sword. 
Wh is pronounced as if written hw. Thus, the words where, while, 
when, are pronounced hwere, hwile, hwen.* 

X represents, — 

(1) The sound oiks; as in axle, execute. 

(2) The sound of gz; as in existence, exonerate. 

At the beginning of a word, x takes the sound of z ; as in Xenophon, 
xylography. 

Y, when a consonant, has but one sound ; as in year, youth. 
Exercise: — Yet, y ; young, y; yoke, y; you, y. 

Z has usually the sound heard in zeal. 

Exercise: — Zone, z; ooze, z; prize, z; zebra, z. 
When z is followed by the consonant sound of y, the combination 
has the sounds heard in azure. 

Exercise : — Seizure, z; glazier, z. 

What are the sounds of th ? Examples of each. Utter the sound of v. 
Utter the consonant sound ofw. What sounds are represented by x ? Ex- 
amples of each. Utter the consonant sound ofy; — the two sounds of 2. 

*" The Saxons, as Dr. Lowth observes, place the h before the w, as hwat ; 
and this is certainly its true place ; for in the pronunciation of all words 
beginning with wh, we ought to breathe forcibly before we pronounce the 
?p." — Walker. 

" Wh, which Dr. Rush has recognized as a distinct element, are but appa- 
rently such. They differ, in no respect, from the separate elements,?/? ana h, 
— only that, in the modern orthography of words, they are inverted, as to 
their order. The ancient orthography of the language placed them as they 
stand in orthoepy, — hw; thus hwcat, hwen, etc." — Murdoch and RusselVs 
Vocal Culture. 

See also Smart, Worcester, and Webster, 

4* 



40 ORTHOGRAPHY. V O WELS. 

The great diversity of languages from which English words are 
derived, has occasioned much irregularity and inconsistency in our 
orthography. Our alphabet is both redundant and defective. C is 
represented by A: or s; q by k; and x by hs or gz. The remaining 
twenty-three letters are employed to represent about forty elementary 
sounds. Many of the letters are used to denote several different 
sounds, and many of them are sometimes silent. 



GENERAL EXERCISES, 

EMBRACING ALL THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

[In performing these exercises, great care should be taken to give 
each element the same sound, when uttered by itself, that it has in the 
word which contains it. See the directions given on p. 30.] 

VOWELS. 

1. A in late; ei, ey. 

Name, a; favor, a; debate, a; weigh, ei; obey, ey. 

2. A in father. 

Far, a; large, a; balm, a; arm, a; calm, a. 

3. A in all; o. 

Call, a; walk, a; also, a; nor, o; border, o. 

4. A in man. 

Hat, a; lad, a; cancel, a; outran, a. 

5. A in care ; e. 

Dare, a; snare, a; there, e; where, e. 

6. A in past. 

Fast, a; mast, a; grass, a; branch, a; advance, a. 

7. E in me ; i. 

We, e; era, e; complete, e; marine, i; caprice, i. 

8. E in let ; a, u. 

Met, e; express, e; any, a; many, a; bwry, u. 

What redundancy is there in the English alphabet ? What defect ? 



GENERAL EXERCISES. CONSONANTS. 41 

9. E in her ; i, o, u, y. 

Term, e; fervid, e; mirth, i; world, o; burn, u; myrrh, y. 

10. I in pine; i. 

Sign, i; life, i; decide, i; comply, y. 

11. /in /n7; e, o, u, y. 

Sit, i; if, i; timid, i; .England, e; women, o; busy, u; hymn, 
y; symptom, y. 

12. O in ?*ote ; ew, au. 

Roll, o; remote, o; sew, ew; hawtboy, au. 

13. O in 7*0^; a. 

Blot, o; proxy, o; robber, o; what, a; was, a. 

14. O in move ; u. 

Prove, o; ado, o; who, o; rule, u. 

15. ?7in tune ; ew. 

Lwte, w; hwman, u; new, ew ; use, u; regulate, u. 

16. U in run ; o. 

But, u; un, u; swnder, u; done, o. 

17. Urn full; o. 
Pwll, w; cushion, w; pwsh, w; wolf, o. 

Oi* in 5oiZ; oy. 
Coil, oi; soil, oi; boy, oy ; destroy, oy. 

Ot/f in pound ; ow. 

Arotmd, ou; thou, ou; house, ou; town, ow ; croivd, ow. 



CONSONANTS. 

18. B in but. 

'Rob, b ; glebe, b ; by, b; bv\b, b; imbibe, b. 

* Composed of a in all and i in pit. 

t Composed of a in father and o in wore. 



42 ORTHOGRAPHY. CONSONANTS. 

19. Din did. 

.Day, d; door, d; macfe, d; hart/, d ; deduct, d. 

20. F in fate; ph, gh. 

Full,/; scar/,/; defend*,/; phantom, ph ; rough, gh. 

21. G in go ; gh. 

Give, g ; green, g; goodness, g; ghost, gh; bur gh, gh. 

22. Hinhe. 

iJead, h; Aall, h; heart, h; hove, h; beAold, h. 

23. J in joy ; g, di. 

Jai\,j; jest,j; jury,j; gesture, g ; giant, g; soldier, di. 

24. K in look ; c, ch, q. 

Kid, k; as/.-, k; kindle, k; cube, c; faction, c; cAasm, ch; 
quite, q. 

25. L in Zi#e. 

.Let, /; /aw, /; fi/e, /; a/so, /., 

26. ikf in man. 

Move, m; same, m; roam, m; complain, m. 

27. N in no. 

JVew, n; one, n; begin, n; complain, n. 

28. iVin bank ; ng. 

Sink, n; drink, n; anxious, n; song", ng*; bring", ng\ 

29. P in pine. 

Put, p ; peax, p ; reap, p ; comply, p. 

30. R in rare. 

Rose, r ; round, r; rain, r; far, r; world, r; declare, r. 

31. S in say ; c. 

See, s; fast, s; mistrust, s; cedar, c; city, c; police, c. 

32. Tin tide; ed. 

Tree, t; tent, t ; *ime, £; ancien/, *; mixed, ed; rocked, ed. 



WORDS AND SYLLABLES. 43 

33. Fin vine; f, ph. 

Fague, v; do ye, v; live, v; remove, v; o/,/; Steven, ph. 

34. W in may. 

Want, w; dwell, w ; betoare, w. 

X* in tax. 

Boa 1 , x; text, x; a#le, x; execute, x. 

X\ in exist. 

Example, x ; exert, x;. executive, x; exonerate, x. 

35. Y in year ; i 3 j. 

Ye, y; yield, y; youth, y; filial, i; union, i; halleluiah, j. 

36. i^in zeal; s y c, x. 

Zenith, z; zealous, z; zone, z; is, s; rose, s; suffice, c; 
Xenophon, x. 

37. Z in azure ; s. 

Seizure, z; measure, 5; leisure, s; ambrosial, s. 

38. Thin this. 

They, th; scythe, th; thine, th; fa^Aer, th. 

39. Th in thin. 

Thorn, th ; brea/A, th ; tmth, th ; antfAem, th. 

40. Ch in church. 

Child, ch; check, ch; touch, ch; marcA, ch. 

41. Sh in ship ; ch, ti, ci, ce, s, si. 

Shine, sh; show, sh; chaise, ch; portion, ti; social, ci; ocean, 
ce; sure, s; torsion, si. 

WORDS AND SYLLABLES. 
A word is a letter or combination of letters, used as 

What is a word ? Examples. 
* Composed of k and s. t Composed of g and z. 



44 ORTHOGRAPHY. WORDS AND SYLLABLES. 

the sign of an idea; as, I, man, science, extempora- 
neous. 

A syllable is a word or a part of a word, which is pro- 
nounced by a single impulse of the voice; as, art, 
ar-tic-u-la-tion. 

Most syllables are written with at least one vowel ; but in many 
words the vowel of the final syllable is silent, as in season, whis-tle, 
hap-pened. 

A word of one syllable is called a monosyllable; one of two 
syllables, a dissyllable; one of three, a trisyllable; and one of more 
than three, a polysyllable ; as, in, intend, intention, intentionally. 

Words are divided into two general classes ; — primitive and deriv- 
ative. 

A primitive or radical word is one that is not derived from any 
other word or words in the language ; as, hill, tree, hind, consider. 

A derivative word is one that is formed from some primitive word 
or words in the language ; as, hillock, kindness, inconsiderate. 

Words are also divided into two other classes, called simple and 
compound. 

A simple word is one that is not formed by uniting other words ; 
as, hand, fortune. 

A compound word is one that is formed by joining two or more 
simple words, without materially modifying either ; as, book-seller, 
rail-road, common-place book. 



Division of Words into Syllables. 

As a general principle, it may be observed, that the syllables of a 
word are those divisions which are made in a correct pronunciation 
of it. 

What is a syllable ? Examples. Name a syllable which has no vowel 
sound. What is a word of one syllable called ? — of two ? — of three ? — 
of more than three ? Into what two general classes are words divided ? 
What is a primitive word ? Examples. A derivative word ? Examples. 
A simple word? Examples. A compound word? Examples. What 
are the syllables of a word ? 



SPELLING. 45 

The following are perhaps the only definite rules that can be given 
on this subject : — 

1. Two consonants forming but one sound, as ng, ch, th, sh, ph, 
wh, are never separated. Thus, we write church-es, wor-thy , feath-er , 
ring-mg, a-while. 

2. Compound words are commonly separated into the simple 
words of which they are composed ; as, care-less, bee-hive, rail-road. 

3. The termination ed, though not always pronounced separately, 
is regarded in writing as a distinct syllable ; as, lov-ed, burn-ed. 



SPELLING. 



Spelling is the art of expressing words by their 
proper letters. 

RULES FOR SPELLING* 

I. Final consonants are generally single ; as in man, book, repeat. 

Exceptions. — The final letters in add, ebb, odd, egg, err, purr, burr, inn, 
butt, and buzz, are exceptions to this rule. We must also except 
/, I, and s, when immediately preceded by a single vowel, or by gu 
or qu and a single vowel. Under these circumstances, /, and, in 
monosyllables, I and s, are doubled, as in rebuff, call, guess, quill ; 
except in as, has, was, gas, his, is, this, thus, us, yes, if, of and its 
compounds hereof, whereof, etc. Concerning I and s, in words of 
more than one syllable, no certain rule can be given. 

C assumes k at the end of all monosyllables, except lac, zinc and arc. 

JTwas formerly used after c, in many words of more than one sylla- 
ble ; but it is now generally omitted, except in some few words, as at- 
tack, hillock. 

II. Words ending in y preceded by a consonant, change y to i on 
receiving an addition,* unless this addition is '5 or a syllable begin- 
ning with i ; as, carry, carries, carrier ; fancy, fancied, fanciful ; — 
lady, lady^s; carry, carrying. 

Wliat three rules are given respecting the division of words into syllables ? 
What is spelling ? What is the rule respecting final consonants ? Exam- 
ples. What is the rule respecting words ending in y preceded by a conso- 
nant ? 

*The 2d, 4th, and 6th rules are not intended to include such additions as 
form compound words. ' 



46 ORTHOGRAPHY. — SPELLING. 

III. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel, generally retain 
the y on taking an increase ; as, boy, boys, boyish; journey, journeys; 
money, moneys; valley, valleys, 

Exc. — Paid, laid, lain, saith, said, and most of their compounds, as 
unpaid, mislaid, are- exceptions to this rule. 

IV. Words ending in silent e, generally reject the e before an 
additional syllable beginning with a vowel; as, strive, striving; 
sense, sensible. 

Exc. 1. — Words ending in oe, retain the final e ; as, shoe, shoeing ; 

hoe, hoeing. 
Exc. 2. — When e is preceded by g or c, it is retained before ous and 

able ; as, courageous, peaceable. 
Exc. 3. — The e is retained in a few words to prevent ambiguity ; 

as in singeing, to distinguish it from singing ; in dyeing, (coloring,) 

to distinguish from dying (expiring.) 
Exc. 4. — Words terminating in ee, drop the final letter only when 

the addition begins with e ; as see, seer, seeth ; flee, fleest ; agree, 

agreed. 
Final ie, besides dropping e, changes i to y, before an additional syl- 
lable beginning with i ; as, lie, lying. 

V. Words ending in silent e, generally retain e on receiving an 
additional syllable beginning with a consonant ; as large, largely. 

Exc. — Duly, truly, wholly, awful, and argument, are exceptions. The 
words judgment, abridgment, and acknowledgment, are also most 
frequently written without the e. 

Before fy and ty, e is sometimes changed to i ; as pure, purify, purity. 

VI. Monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, ending 
in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, generally double 
the final consonant, on taking an additional syllable beginning with 
a vowel ; as, tan, tanner; fulfil, fulfilling. 

Exc. 1. — X, z, and k, are never doubled in English words; and 
when the accent is shifted, the final letter remains single ; as, wax, 
waxen ; confer, conference. Excel follows the general rule ; as in 
excellence. 
Exc. 2. — The derivatives of gas have only one s ; as, gases, gasify. 
When a diphthong precedes the final letter, or when the accent is not 
on the last syllable, the consonant is not doubled on assuming an addi- 
tional syllable ; as boil, boiling ; visit, visitor. 
Respecting words ending in I and p, which are not accented on the 

What is the rule respecting words ending in y preceded by a vowel ? Ex- 
amples. Wliat two rules are given respecting words ending in silent e ? 
Examples. What is the rule respecting monosyllables and words accented 
on the last syllable, ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel ? 



SPELLING. 47 

last syllable, usage is not settled. In many words these letters are now 
generally doubled ; as, travel, traveller ; worship, worshipper. 

Many words ending in c, assume k on taking an additional syllable 
beginning with e, i, or y ; as, frolic, frolicked, frolicking. 

VII. Words ending in a double consonant, generally retain both 
consonants on receiving an addition ; as, call, calls, caller, calling. 

Exc. — Some words ending in II, drop one I on receiving an increase 
beginning with a consonant ; as, full, fulness, fully. 

VIII. Compound words are usually spelled in the same manner as 
the simple words of which they are composed ; as, here-after, ice- 
house. 

Exc. — An e is dropped in wherever ; and words ending in 11 often 
drop one Z in composition, as al-ready, with-al, un-til. 

E is inserted before s, in forming the plural of nouns and the third 
person singular of verbs, ending in ch soft, sh, s, x, z, o, or y preceded 
by a consonant ; as, churches, wishes, hisses, flies. 

Exc. — In the following words e is commonly omitted in the plural : 
— canto, grotto, junto, memento, portico, quarto, octavo, solo, two, zero, 
tyro. 

Nouns ending in o preceded by another vowel, form the plural by 
the addition of s only ; as, cameo, cameos ; embryo, embryos ; folio, folios; 
bamboo, bamboos. 

Many words in our language admit of two or more different modes 
of spelling ; as, connection, connexion ; chemistry, chymistry, chimistry ; 
octahedron, octaedron, octohedron, octoedron. In such cases the prevailing 
usage is to be learned by observing the practice of the standard au- 
thors of the present day, and by consulting the best dictionaries. 

In some kinds of writing, such as bills and inscriptions, symbols are 
often used to represent either whole words or parts of words ; as, XII, 
18, 29th, etc. But in literary compositions, elegant usage generally re- 
jects these, except in giving dates and the several divisions of a sub- 
ject. 

Various other marks are employed in writing, which will be describ- 
ed under the head of punctuation. 

What is the rule respecting words ending in a double consonant ? — re- 
specting compound words ? 

5 



PART II. 



ETYMOLOGY. 

Etymology treats of the classification of words, their 
derivation, and their various modifications. 

PARTS OF SPEECH. 

The different classes into which words are divided 
are called Paints of Speech. 

There are in English eight* parts of speech ; name- 
ly, the Noun, the Adjective,^ the Pronoun, the Verb, 
the Adverb, the Preposition, the Conjunction, and the 
Interjection. 

A Noun is a word used to express the name of an 
object; as, America, man, book, wisdom. 

An Adjective is a word joined to a noun or pronoun, 
to qualify or define its meaning; as, honest men; ten 
days; this book. 

A Pronoun is a word used to supply the place of a 

Of what does Etymology treat ? What are the different classes of 
words called? Enumerate the parts of speech. What is a noun? 
Examples. An adjective ? Examples. A pronoun? Examples. 

* " I adopt the usual distribution of words into eight classes, because, if 
any number, in a thing so arbitrary, must be fixed upon, this seems to be as 
comprehensive and distinct as any." — Priestley. 

The division of words into eight classes is also adopted by Butler, Frazee, 
Swett, Fowle, E. Oliver, Lindsay, Hort, M'Culloch, Connon, D'Orsey, Wil- 
lard, Robbins, Weld, and others. 

t For note respecting the articles, see p. 66. 



NOUNS. 49 

as, "When Caesar had conquered Gaul, he 
turned his arms against his country." 

A Verb is a word that expresses an assertion or 
affirmation; as, I am; I love; I am loved. 

An Adverb is a word used to modify the sense of a 
verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, "He is not 
understood •" — "A remarkably diligent boy ;" — " She 
reads very correctly." 

A Preposition is a word used to express the relation 
of a noun or pronoun depending upon it, to some other 
word in the sentence; as, "He went from Boston to 
Albany;" — " Washington was the father of his coun- 
try." 

A Conjunction is a word that is used to connect 
words or sentences; as, "Seven and five are twelve;" 
— "Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the 
bottom." 

An Interjection is an exclamatory word, used merely 
to express some passion or emotion ; as, Oh ! ah ! alas ! 



THI! NOUN. 

A Noun* is a word used to express the name of an 
object ; as, America, man, book, wisdom. 

This part of speech not only embraces the names of 
material objects, as horse, tree, carriage; but it also 
includes the name of everything that can be conceived 
to exist, as hope, virtue, strength. 

"What is a verb? Examples. An adverb? Examples. A prepo- 
sition? Examples. A conjunction? Examples. An interjection? 
Examples. What is a noun ? Examples. What names, besides those 
of material objects, are embraced under this part of speech ? Examples. 

* Noun is derived from the Latin word nomen, which signifies a name. 



50 ETYMOLOGY. — NOUNS. 



CLASSES. 

Nouns are of two kinds ; — proper and common. 

A proper noun is a name used to distinguish an indi- 
vidual object from others of the same class ; as, George, 
Boston, Ontario, Vesuvius, January. 

The particular names of nations, ranges of mountains, and groups 
of islands, are generally classed with proper nouns ; as, The Jews, 
The Andes, The Azores. 

The pupil should be careful to discriminate between a proper 
name used to distinguish an individual object, and the same word 
used to denote a class or species. Thus, when we say, " The Prus- 
sians are distinguished for their system of free schools," Prussians 
is a proper noun, because it is used to distinguish a particular nation 
from all other nations ; but, in the sentence, " I saw several Prus- 
sians in Paris," the word Prussians becomes a common noun, because 
it may be applied in the same sense to any other portion of the whole 
class of individuals composing the kingdom of Prussia. So also in 
the expression, " He is the Cicero of his age," the word Cicero is 
employed to denote a class, and is applicable in this sense to other 
individuals in common with the celebrated Roman orator. 

A common noun is a name that may be applied to 
any one of a whole class of objects ; as, desk, house, 
town, scholar. 

Common nouns embrace also the particular classes, termed abstract, 
participial, and collective. 

An abstract noun is the name of a quality considered apart from 
the object to which it belongs ; as hardness, strength, wisdom, benev- 
olence. Thus, in the phrase, beautiful flower, the quality expressed 

Into what classes are nouns divided ? What is a proper noun ? Ex- 
amples. What of the particular names of nations, groups of islands, etc. ? 
Examples. Show how the same word may be either a proper or a common 
noun. Examples. What is a common noun ? Examples. What 
particular classes are embraced under common nouns ? What is an abstract 
noun ? Illustrate. Examples 



NOUNS. 51 

by the word beautiful, when considered as separated from the object 
flower, forms the abstract noun beauty. 

A participial noun is a word which has the form of a participle 
and performs the office of a noun ; as, " They could not avoid sub- 
mitting to this influence.' ' 

A collective noun, or noun of multitude, is a name that denotes a 
collection of many individuals ; as, school, flock, people, assembly. 

EXERCISES. 

Ship, London, army, Alps, virtue, industry, Palestine, 

mountain, field, pleasure, France, assembly. 

Which of the foregoing nouns are common? "Which proper? 
Which abstract ? Which collective ? 

"Paris is the metropolis of France." — " In the days of 

youth the multitude eagerly pursue pleasure as their chief 

good." — " Industry is the law of our being. It is the demand 

of nature, of reason, and of God." — " This was said in the 

hearing of the witness," 

Mention the nouns in the foregoing sentences. Which are common ? 
Which proper ? Which are abstract 1 Which participial ? Which col- 
lective ? 

Write a sentence containing both a common and a proper noun. 
One containing an abstract noun ; — a participial noun ; — a collective 
noun . 

PROPERTIES. 

The properties belonging to nouns are gender, per- 
son, number, and case. 

GENDER. 

Gender is the distinction of objects in regard to sex. 
There are four* genders; — the masculine, the femi- 
nine, the common, and the neuter. 

What is a participial noun ? Examples. JVJiat is a collective noun ? 
Examples. What properties have nouns? What is gender? What 
are the different genders ? 

* Since there are but two sexes, some critics have contended that we have 
properlv no more than two genders. This reasoning would be satisfactory, 

5* 



52 ETYMOLOGY. 'NOUNS. 

Nouns that denote males, are of the masculine gen- 
der ; as, man, brother, king, father. 

Nouns that denote females, are of the feminine gen- 
der; as, woman, sister, queen, mother. 

Nouns that are applicable alike to both sexes, are of 
the common gender ; as, parent, child, friend. 

Nouns that denote objects neither male nor female, 
are of the neuter gender ; as, rock, wind, paper, knowl- 
edge. 

Nouns of the masculine or feminine gender are frequently used in a 
general sense, including both sexes ; as, " And with thee will I break 
in pieces the horse and his rider." — Jer. 51: 21. " Go to the ant, thou 
sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise." — Prov. 6 : 6. 

When we speak of males and females of our own species, without 
regard to sex, we generally employ a term in the masculine gender ; as, 
" Man is mortal ;V — " The authors and poets of the age." 

In speaking of young children, and of animate objects whose sex is 
unknown, we often employ the neuter pronoun it ; as, " The child was 
well when I saw it ;" — " He caught the bird, but it soon escaped from 
him." 

In the English language, the gender of nouns follows the order of 
nature ; but in the Greek, Latin, and German tongues, the grammati- 
cal genders are frequently assigned without regard to sex ; while in the 
French, Italian, etc., which have no neuter gender, every object is, of 
necessity, regarded as grammatically masculine or feminine. 

By a figure of speech called Personification, gender is sometimes at- 
tributed to objects without sex. Thus, the sun, time, decfch, etc., are usu- 
ally considered as masculine ; and the earth, a ship, virtue, etc., are com- 
monly characterized as feminine. 

This figurative mode of expression, by which we give life and sex to 
things inanimate, contributes greatly to the force and beauty of our 

What nouns are of the masculine gender? Examples. What of 
the feminine? Examples. What of the common ? Examples. What 
of the neuter ? Examples. 

if the word gender were synonymous with sex; but the best grammarians 
have uniformly employed it in a less restricted sense, to express " distinction 
in regard to sex." As some names denote males, some females, some objects 
of either sex, and some objects of no sex, it is obvious that, in regard to sex, 
there must be four distinct classes of nouns. In designating these classes, 
grammarians have found it convenient to employ the terms masculine, femi- 
nine, common, and neuter gender. See Frazee, Goldsbury, Hall, R. C. 
Smith, Parker and Fox, Picket, Goodenow, Fowle, Parkhurst, Sanborn, Wil- 
lard, Webber, Perley, Felch, Barrett, C. Adams, Booth, Crane, Maittaire, 
Pinnock, Smart, SutclirTe, and De Sacy. 



NOUNS. • 



• GENDER. 



53 



language, and renders it, in this respect, superior to the polished lan- 
guages of Greece and Rome. 

No fixed rule can be given to determine, in all cases, which gender 
should be assigned to inanimate objects personified. Those which are 
distinguished for masculine qualities, as energy, boldness, or strength, 
are generally regarded as masculine ; and those which are distinguished 
for feminine qualities, as beauty, mildness, or timidity, are generally 
characterized as feminine. Abstract nouns, and the names of ships, 
cities, and countries, are usually considered as feminine. 

Examples : — " They arrived too late to save the ship, for the vio- 
lent current had set her more and more upon the bank." — 
Irving. 
" Statesmen scoffed at Virtue, and she avenged herself by bringing 

their counsels to nought." — Bancroft. 
11 Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God." — Coleridge. 
11 Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound, 
Save his own dashings." — Bryant. 

" The oak 
Shall send his roots abroad and pierce thy mould." — Ibid. 
11 And see where surly Winter passes off, 
Far to the north, and call his ruffian blasts." — Thomson. 

The distinction between males and females is expressed in three 
different ways. 

1. By the use of different words : — 



Masculine. 


Feminine. Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Beau 


belle Lad 


lass 


Boy 


girl Landlord 


landlady 


Brother 


sister Lord 


lady 


Buck 


doe Male 


female 


Drake 


duck Man 


woman 


Earl 


countess Master 


mistress 


Father 


mother Master 


miss 


Friar or monk 


nun Nephew 


niece 


Gander 


goose Papa 


mamma 


Gentleman 


lady Son 


daughter 


Hart 


roe Stag 


hind 


Horse 


mare Uncle 


aunt 


Husband 


wife Wizard 


witch 


King 


queen 






2. By a difference of termination : 


— 


Masculine. 


Feminine. Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Abbot 


abbess Adulterer 


adulteress 


Actor 


actress Ambassador 


ambassadress 


Administrator 


administratrix Arbiter 


arbitress 



In what three ways is the distinction between males and females expressed ? 
Examples of each . 



)4 


ETYMOLOGY. 


— NOUNS. 




Author 


authoress 


Landgrave 


landgravine 


Baron 


baroness 


Lion 


lioness 


Bridegroom 


bride 


Marquis 


marchioness 


Benefactor 


benefactress 


Margrave 


margravine 


Caterer 


cateress 


Negro 


negress 


Chanter 


chantress 


Patron 


patroness 


Conductor 


conductress 


Peer 


peeress 


Count 


countess 


Poet 


poetess 


Czar 


czarina 


Prior 


prioress 


Dauphin 


dauphiness 


Prophet 


prophetess 


Deacon 


deaconess 


Protector 


protectress 


Don 


donna 


Priest 


priestess 


Duke 


duchess 


Prince 


princess 


Emperor 


empress 


Shepherd 


shepherdess 


Enchanter 


enchantress 


Songster 


songstress 


Executor 


executrix 


Sorcerer 


sorceress [tana 


Giant 


giantess 


Sultan 


sultaness or sul- 


Governor 


governess 


Tailor 


tailoress 


Heir 


heiress 


Testator 


testatrix 


Hero 


heroine 


Tiger 


tigress 


Hunter 


huntress 


Tutor 


tutoress 


Host 


hostess 


Viscount 


viscountess 


Instructor 


instructress 


Votary 


votaress 


Jew 


Jewess 


Widower 


widow 




3. By prefixing another word : — 




Masculine. 


Feminine. 


Masculine. 


Feminine. * 


ilf<wi-servant 


maidservant 


He-goat 


she-goat 



3£ale-chi\6. female-child 
Some words are used only in the feminine ; as, Amazon, brunette, 
dowager, shrew, syren, virago. 

PERSON. 

Person is that property of nouns and pronouns 
which distinguishes the speaker, the person or thing 
addressed, and the person or thing spoken of. 

Nouns have three persons ; — the first, the second, 
and the third. 

The first person denotes the speaker; as, " The sal- 
utation of me, Paul, with mine own hand." 

The second person denotes the person or thing spoken 

What is person ? Name the persons. What does the first person 
denote? Examples. The second? Examples. 



NOUNS. — NUMBER. 55 

to; as, " These are thy glorious works, Parent of 
good ;" — " Come, gentle Spring." 

The third person denotes the person or thing spoken 
of; as, u Dependence and obedience belong to youth" 

The third person is occasionally employed for the first or second. 
Thus, Solomon, addressing the Deity, says of himself, " Thy servant is 
in the midst of thy people, which thou hast chosen." So also, Moses, 
in narrating the events of his own life, speaks of himself just as he 
would speak of any other person. In the following example, the third 
person is employed for the second : — " And Jonathan spake good of 
David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin 
against his servant, against David." 

EXERCISES. 
Mention the gender of each of the following nouns : — 
Bell, uncle, cherry, girl, neighbor, sister, tree, rose, grass. 

Mention three nouns in the masculine gender • — three in the fem- 
inine j — three in the common ; — three in the neuter. Give an exam- 
ple of a noun in the first person ; — in the second ; — in the third. 

Write a sentence containing a noun in the masculine gender ; — in 
the feminine ; — in the common ; — in the neuter. One containing a 
noun in the first person; —in the second j — in the third. 



NUMBER. 

Number is the distinction of one from more than one. 
Nouns have two numbers ; — the singular and the 
plural. 

The singular number denotes but one object; as, 
day, book, volume. 

The plural number denotes more objects than one ; 
as, days, books, volumes. 

What does the third person denote? Examples. What is number? 
What numbers have nouns ? What does the singular number denote ? 
Examples. What does the plural number denote ? Examples. 



56 ETYMOLOGY. — NOUNS. 

The plural of nouns is generally formed by adding 5 or es to the 
singular. 

Words ending in a sound which will unite with the sound of s, 
form the plural by adding 5 only ; as, herd, herds; tree, trees. 

Words ending in a sound which will not unite with the sound of 
5, form the plural by adding es; as, fox, foxes; lash, lashes. 

But words ending in silent e, whose last sound will not combine with 
the sound of s, add s only, for the plural ; as rose, roses ; voice, voices. 

Most nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant, form the plural by 
the addition of es ; as, cargo, cargoes ; hero, heroes ; but the following 
nouns are commonly written in the plural with s only : — canto, grotto, 
junto, memento, portico, quarto, octavo, solo, two, tyro, zero. There are 
also a few others, with respect to which, usage is not uniform. See 
p. 47. 

Several nouns ending in / or fe, form the plural by substituting ves 
for the termination in the singular ; as, loaf, loaves ; life, lives ; beef, 
beeves ; shelf, shelves ; knife, knives. Others, as chief, dwarf, fife, grief, 
gulf, handkerchief, hoof, proof, roof, reproof, safe, scarf, strife, surf, turf, 
and most of those ending in ff, form the plural regularly ; as, gulf, 
gulfs ; muff, muffs. Staff has staves in the plural, but its compounds 
are regular; as flagstaff, flagstaff s. 

Nouns ending in y after a consonant, form the plural by changing y 
to ies ; as, lady, ladies. But nouns ending in y after a vowel, form the 
plural regularly ; as, day, days. 

Many words ending in y, were formerly spelled with ie in the singu- 
lar ; as, glorie, vanitie. The termination ie, in the singular, is now laid 
aside for y, while the old plural termination ies, is retained ; as, glory, 
glories ; vanity, vanities. 

The plurals of the following nouns are variously formed : — 
man, men; woman, women; child, children ; ox, oxen; mouse, mice; 
tooth, teeth; goose, geese ; foot, feet ; brother, brothers (when applied 
to persons of the same family) ; brother, brethren (when applied to 
persons of the same society or profession) ; die, dies (stamps for 
coining) ; die, dice (small cubes for gaming) ; genius, genii (aerial 
spirits) ; genius, geniuses (men of genius) ; pea, pease (the species) ; 
pea, peas (the seeds as distinct objects) ; penny, pence (in computa- 
tion) ; penny, pennies (as distinct pieces of coin) . 

Spoonful, mouse-trap, camera-obscura, Ave-Maria, and other similar 
compound nouns, form the plural regularly ; as, spoonfuls, mouse-traps, 

How is the plural of nouns generally formed ? What words form the 
plural by adding s only ? Examples. WJiat words by adding es ? Exam- 
ples. Give the plural of the following nouns : — Man, woman, child, oz f 
mouth, tooth, goose, foot, brother, die, genius, pea, penny. 



NOUNS. 



• NUMBER. 



57 



camera-obscures, Ave- Marias. But words composed of an adjective and 
a noun, or of two nouns connected by a preposition, generally form 
the plural by adding s to the first word ; as, court-martial, courts-martial ; 
knight-errant, knights-errant ; aid-de-camp, aids-de-camp ; cousin- german, 
cousins- german ; son-in-law, sons-in-law. 

Examples : — " Those who are carried down in coachfuls to West- 
minster-Hall. " — Addison. " Captains Orme and Morris, the 
two other aids-de-camp, were wounded and disabled." — Sparks. 
" The lunacy as to knights-errant remaining unabated." — Hal- 
lam. 

Letters and numeral figures generally form the plural by adding an 
apostrophe with the letter 5; as, Twelve a's; three 5's. The plu- 
ral of words, considered as words merely, is formed in the same 
manner. 

Examples ; — " I busied myself in crossing my fs and dotting my 
z''s very industriously." — JVillis. " The dividend contains two 
z's, two tfs, and two z's." — Youngs Algebra. "Cast all the 
9 J s out of the sum of the figures in each of the two factors." 
Huttorts Mathematics. "Who, that has any taste, can endure 
the incessant, quick returns of the also's, and the likewise % and 
the moreover s, and the however s, and the notwithstanding^ ? " — 
Campbell's Phil, of Rhet. 
Many nouns adopted from foreign languages retain their original 
plurals : — 



Alumnus 

Amanuensis 

Analysis 

Animalculum 

Eng. Animalcule 

Antithesis 

Apex 

Appendix 

Arcanum 

Automaton 

Axis 

Bandit 



alumni 

amanuenses 

analyses 

animalcula* 

antitheses 

apices 

apexes 
( appendices 
j appendixes 

arcana 

automata 

automatons 

axes 

banditti 

bandits 



Basis 


bases 


Beau 


beaux 


Calx 


calces 
calxes 


Cherub 


cherubim 
cherubs 


Chrysalis 


chrysalides 


Crisis 


crises 


Criterion 


criteria 




cntenons 


Datum 


data 


Desideratum 


desiderata 


Diaeresis 


diaereses 


Dogma 


dogmas 
dogmata 


Effluvium 


effluvia 



What rule is observed in forming the plural of letters, numerical figures, 
and words considered merely as words ? Examples. 

* " Animalculae is a barbarism." — Smart, adopted by Worcester. 



58 



ETYMOLOGY. — NOUNS. 



Ellipsis 
Emphasis 

Encomium 

Ephemeris 

Erratum 

Focus 

Formula 

Fungus 

Genus 

Gymnasium 

Hypothesis 
Ignis fatuus 
Index 



Index 



Lamina 
Larva 

Medium 



ellipses 
emphases 
( encomiums 
j encomia 
ephemerides 
errata 
foci 
( formulas 
j formulae 

fungi 
( funguses 

genera 
( gymnasia 
( gymnasiums 
hypotheses 
ignes fatui 
indices (refer- 
ring to alge- 
braic quan- 
tities) 
indexes (point- 
ers or tables 
of contents) 
laminae 
larvae 
media 
mediums 



Memorandum 

Metamorphosis 
Miasma 

Momentum 

Monsieur 

Nebula 

Oasis 

Parenthesis 

Phasis 

Phenomenon 

Radius 

Scoria 

Scholium 

Seraph 

Speculum 

Stamen 

Stimulus 
Stratum 
Thesis 
Vortex 



memoranda 

memorandums 

metamorphoses 

miasmata 

momenta 

momentums 

messieurs 

nebulae 

oases 

parentheses 

phases 

phenomena 

radii 

scoriae 

scholia 

scholiums 

seraphim 

seraphs 

specula 

stamens 

stamina 

stimuli 

strata 

theses 

vortices 



Some nouns have the same form in both numbers ; as, deer, sheep, 
swine, trout, salmon, congeries, series, species, means, odds, bellows ; ethics, 
mathematics, metaphysics, pneumatics, optics, and other similar names of 
sciences. 

There are also several nouns of number, which do not commonly 
vary their forms in the plural : as, " Six dozen ;" — " Three score and 
ten." 

The words, horse, foot, and infantry, denoting bodies of soldiers, are 
singular in form, but plural in signification. Cavalry is often used in 
the same manner. The words, cannon, sail, and head, are also frequently 
employed in a plural sense. 

Examples : — " Nelson now proceeded to his station with eight sail 

of frigates under his command." — Southey. " A body of a 

thousand horse was sent forward to reconnoitre the city." — 

Prescott. " He ordered two cannon to be fired." — Irving. 

The following words, though sometimes used as singular nouns, are 

more properly plural : — alms, amends, pains, riches, wages. 



Annals 
Archives 
Ashes 
Assets 



The following are used only in the plural : — 

Billiards Calends Dregs 

Bitters Clothes Embers 

Bowels Drawers (an ar- Entrails 



Breeches 



tide of dress) Exuviae 



NOUNS. — 


-NUMBER. 




Literati 


Pincers 


Thanks 


Lungs 


Pleiads 


Tidings 


Manners 


Politics 


Tongs 


Minutise 


Scissors 


Vespers 


Morals 


Shambles 


Victuals 


Nippers 


Shears 


Vitals 


Nones 


Snuffers 




Orgies 


Statistics 





59 

Goods 
Hatches 

Hose (stockings) 
Hysterics 
Ides 
Lees 

Letters (litera- 
ture) 

Nouns denoting objects which do not admit of plurality, are used 
only in the singular j as, gold, silver, wheat, molasses, wine, flour, indus- 
try, pride, wisdom. 

When, however, different kinds or varieties are spoken of, words of 
this class sometimes take the plural form ; as, "The leas of China." 
— "He also acquired a lucrative monopoly of wines" — Bancroft. In 
these examples, the different species or classes are signified, and not a 
number of individual objects of the same class. 

The word news is now regarded as singular, though it was for- 
merly used in both numbers. Shakspeare has it most frequently in the 
plural. 

Proper names are sometimes pluralized like other nouns ; as, The 
two Scipios, The Howards, The Johnsons ; but these plural names 
are not used to designate individuals, and may with more propriety 
be classed with common nouns. 

Proper names ending in y preceded by a consonant, are sometimes 
pluralized by adding 5 to the singular ; as, The Henrys, The Ptolemy s ; 
but the regular form ; as, The Henries, The Ptolemies, is to be pre- 
ferred. Proper names ending in o preceded by a consonant, are most 
frequently pluralized by adding s to the singular ; as, The Catos, The 
Ciceros. 

In expressing the plural of a proper name and a title, taken as one 
complex noun, good writers most frequently annex the plural termi- 
nation to the title only; as, " The Misses Smith." This form is 
therefore to be preferred. # 

Examples : — " The Misses Barrett." — Graham 's Magazine. " The 
Misses Vanhomrigh." — Edinb. Journal. " The Misses Wood." 

— Boston Courier. "The Misses Fellows." — H. Winslow . 
"The Messrs. Carey." —/. G. Palfrey. " The Messrs. Abbott." 

— Judge Hubbard. "The Messrs. Harper." — N. A. Review. 
" Messrs. Percy." — Southey. "The celebrated Misses David- 
son."— R. W. Griswold. 

What of proper 'names, pluralized ? How do writers most frequently form 
the plural of a proper name and a title, taken as a complex noun ? Exam- 
ples. 

* In forming the plural of proper names to which titles are prefixed, 

6 



60 ETYMOLOGY. NOUNS. 

The proper names of nations, societies, groups of islands, and 
chains of mountains, are generally plural ; as, The French, The Mora- 
vians, The Azores, The Alps, The Andes. 

EXERCISES. 

Give the number of each of the following nouns : — 

Cloud, vices, knives, life, lyceum, mirth, men, feet, brother. 

Give the plural of the following nouns : — 

Month, lion, church, poet, woman, thought. 

Give the number of the following nouns : — 

Oxen, brethren, die, cherubim, data, hypothesis, beaux, anal- 
ysis, series, means, mathematics, alms, wages, ashes, scissors. 

Give the plural of the following nouns : — - 

Penny, pailful, father-in-law, amanuensis, focus, stratum, 
erratum, genus, phenomenon. 

Write a sentence containing two or more nouns in the singular num- 
ber ; — one containing two or more nouns in the plural. 

CASE. 

Case denotes the relation of nouns and pronouns to 
other words. 

Nouns have four cases; — the nominative, the pos- 
sessive, the objective, and the independent.* 

What is case ? What cases have nouns ? 

usage is still unsettled. While a decided majority of our popular writers 
pluralize the title and not the name, as " The Misses Smith," there is also 
a large class of writers equally reputable, that pluralize the name and not the 
title, as "The Miss Smiths." 

Examples : — " The Miss Byleses." — Miss Leslie. " The Miss Hor- 

necks." — Irving-. " The two Miss Flamboroughs." — Goldsmith. 

Besides the two forms already exhibited, there is still another, in which 

the plural termination is annexed to both the name and the title ; as, " The 

Misses Smiths." This form, though not very common, is occasionally 

employed by the best writers. 

Examples : — " The Messrs. Harpers." — N. A. Review. " The Misses 
Mores." — B. B. Eftwards. " The two Misses Beauvoirs." — Black- 
wood's Magazine. 
* The nominative case is defined by the best grammarians, to be " that 
form or state of a noun or pronoun, which denotes the subject of a verb ;" 
and since a noun or pronoun, used independently, cannot at the same time be 
employed as " the subject of a verb," there is a manifest impropriety in 
regarding it as a nominative. 
" Is there not as much difference between the nominative and independent 



NOUNS. — CASE. 61 

The nominative case denotes the subject of a finite 

verb ; as, " Birds fly ;" — " Life is short. 77 

All parts of the verb are called finite, except the infinitive and the 
participle. 

The possessive case denotes ownership or possession ; 
as, " Johris book ;" — " The surts rays." 

The possessive singular of nouns is generally formed 
by adding an apostrophe, with the letter s, to the nom- 
inative ; as, nom. man ; poss. mail's. 

The possessive of singular nouns ending in the sound of s or z, is 
sometimes formed by adding only the apostrophe ; as, " Achilles 1 
shield." In poetry, this omission of the apostrophic s is fully sanc- 
tioned by usage ; though the regular form is also frequently employed. 
In prose writings, the 5 may be omitted when its use would occasion 
a disagreeable succession of hissing sounds ; as, " Moses 1 disciples." 

The learner will observe that in pronouncing the word Moses's, with 
the additional s, the sound of z occurs three times in immediate succes- 
sion ; while in the expression "Davies's Surveying/' the sound of z 
occurs only twice, the third s retaining its proper sound. 

When the use of the additional s does not occasion an unpleasant 
succession of hissing sounds, the regular form is generally to be pre- 
ferred.* 

Examples : — "Mrs. Hemans's fine lines on the death of Fergus. M 
N. A. Review. " Collins' s Odes." — Southey. " The character of 

"What does the nominative case denote? Examples. The posses- 
sive? Examples. How is the possessive singular generally formed? 
Examples. Under what circumstances is the additional s omitted? Exam- 
ples. 

case, as there is between the nominative and objective ? If so, why class 
them together as one case ? " — 5. R. Hall. 

" Nouns have four cases ; — the nominative, possessive, objective, and inde- 
pendent." — Felton. 

So also Kennion, Parkhurst, Fowle, J. Flint, Goodenow, Bucke, Hazen, 
Goldsbury, Peirce, Chapin, S. Alexander, P. Smith, and Weld. 

* With respect to the manner of forming the possessive of singular nouns 
ending in 5, the usage of good writers is, to a considerable extent, divided. 
In a collection of nearly a thousand examples, from the productions of several 
hundred different authors, about two thirds of the number retain the additional 
s, while the rest reject it. The rule given above has, therefore, for its sup- 
port, a decided preponderance of reputable usage. It may, however, be 
remarked, that the apostrophic s is at present more frequently omitted than 



62 ETYMOLOGY. — NOUNS. 

Douglas's original poetry." — Hallam. " The original remained 
in manuscript until Sands' 's writings were collected." — R. W. 
Griswold. "Edwards's work on the "Will." — Charming. " Ste- 
phens's Incidents of Travel." — N. A. Review. "Erasmus's Dia- 
logues." — Macaulay. "Sandys' s Sermons." — Hallam. 
"Achilles' shield his ample shoulders spread, 
Achilles' helmet nodded o'er his head." — Pope. 
" A train of heroes followed through the field, 

Who bore by turns great Ajax' seven-fold shield." — Ibid. 
" As for Tibullus's reports, 
They never passed for law in courts." — Swift. 

In some expressions of frequent occurrence, usage has decided in 
favor of rejecting the additional s, contrary to the general rule. Thus, 
we say, " For conscience' sake," and not " For conscience's sake." 

Plural nouns ending in s, form the possessive by adding an apos- 
trophe only; as, nom. fathers ; poss. fathers' . 

Plural nouns that do not end in 5, form the possessive by adding 
both the apostrophe and s ; as, nom. men; poss. men's. 

The import of the possessive may, in general, be expressed by the 
preposition of. Thus, for " Man's wisdom," we may say, " The wis- 
dom of man." 

The sign '5 is a contraction of es or is. Thus, man's, king's, were 
formerly written mannes, hinges.* 

How do plural nouns ending in s, form the possessive ? Examples. How 
do plural nouns that do not end in s, form the possessive ? Examples. 

formerly ; and it is not improbable, that in the course of another century, 
usage may require the rejection of the s altogether, after words ending in the 
sound of s or z. 

* Several respectable authors and critics have fallen into the error of 
regarding this possessive termination as a contraction of the pronoun his. 
" The same single letter (s,) on many occasions, does the office of a whole 
word, and represents the his or her of our forefathers." — Addison. 

It is true that the word his was frequently written after words to form the 
possessive, by Spenser, Dryden, Pope, and other popular authors, during a 
period of two or three centuries, as " Christ his sake," " Socrates his rules ;" 
but the present contracted form of the possessive was in use still earlier, and 
our ablest philologists have uniformly referred its origin to the old Saxon 
termination. 

" From the introduction of the Saxons into this island, to the Norman con- 
quest, the Saxon genitive was in universal use. From the latter period to the 
time of Henry II., (1 170,) though the English language underwent some alter- 
ations, we still find the Saxon genitive. In Gavin Douglass, who lived in the 
beginning of the sixteenth century, we find is instead of es, thus, faderis 
hands. In the time of Henry the Eighth, we find, in the works of Sir T. 
More, both the Saxon and the English genitive ; and in a letter written in 



NOUNS. — DECLENSION. 63 

The objective case denotes the object of a transitive 
verb or a preposition; as, " Boys love play ;" — " The 
queen of England." 

The independent case denotes that the noun or pro- 
noun is used absolutely ', having no dependence on any 
other word; as, " Yom fathers * where are they?" — 
" The treaty being concluded, the council was dissolv- 
ed ;" — " There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats ;" 
— " Webster's Dictionary ; ?? — " Liberty ! Freedom ! 
Tyranny is dead ! " 

The nominative, objective, and independent cases of nouns are the 
same in form, being distinguished only by their relation to other words. 

Norn. Obj. Norn. Obj. 

John struck James. James struck John. 

Here the meaning is reversed by the interchange of the nouns, the 
nominative or agent being indicated by its preceding the verb, and the 
object of the action by its following the verb. A noun in the independ- 
ent case is distinguished by its denoting neither subject, object, nor 
possessor. 

DECLENSION. 
To decline a noun, is to express its cases and numbers. 

Singular. Plural. Singular. Plural. 

Nom.^ Father fathers Man men 

Poss. "Father's fathers' Man's men's 

Obj. Father fathers Man men 

Ind. Father fathers Man men 

" Susan used Eliza's book." Susan is here the subject of the verb, 

and is therefore in the nominative case ; Eliza 's is in the possessive case, 

because it denotes the owner of the book ; book is the object of the 

action expressed by the verb used, and is therefore in the objective case. 

What does the objective case denote ? Examples. What does the 
independent case denote ? Examples. What is it to decline a noun ? 

1559, by Maitland of Lethington, the English genitive frequently occurs. 
Had this genitive, then, been an abbreviation for the noun and the pronoun his } 
the use of the words separately would have preceded their abbreviated fonn 
in composition. This, however, was not the case." — Crombie. 

See also Wallis's Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae, Hickes's Thesaurus, 
Brightland, Fisher, British Grammar, Fenning, Lowth, Priestley, Ash, Brit- 
tain, tyrant, Sutcliffe, Latham, Johnson, and Webster. 

* For a particular description of the different classes of words in the inde- 
pendent case, see the remark under the 4th rule of Svntax. 

6* 



64 ETYMOLOGY. — ADJECTIVES. 

EXERCISES. 

"Romulus founded the city of Rome." — " The king's 
heart is in the hand of the Lord." — " The prophets, do they 
live forever?" — " A wise man's anger is of short continu- 
ance." — "Genius lies buried on our mountains and in our 
valleys." — ■" Columns, arches, pyramids, — what are they 
but heaps of sand?" — " As virtue is its own reward, so vice 
is its own punishment." — "Venerable men ! you have come 
down to us from a former generation." 

Point out the nouns in the foregoing sentences, and give the case of 
each, with the reason. Give also the gender, person, and number of 
each, with the reasons. 

Write the possessive singular and the possessive plural of the following 
nouns : — 

Man, child, body, day, needle. 

"Write one or more sentences, containing examples of nouns in all 
the different cases. 

THE ADJECTIVE. 

An Adjective* is a word joined to a noun or pronoun, 
to qualify or define its meaning; as, honest men; ten 
days ; this book. 

Adjectives may be classed under two general divis- 
ions ; — descriptive and definitive.^ 

A descriptive adjective is one that expresses some 
quality or property of the noun or pronoun to which it 
belongs; as, a dutiful child; a faithful friend; large 
trees. 

What is an adjective? Examples. What are the principal classes 
of adjectives ? What is a descriptive adjective ? Examples. 

* The term adjective is derived from the Latin word adjedus, which signi- 
fies added to. 

t "Adjectives are of two kinds, defining and describing adjectives." — 
Cardell. See also Butler, R. W. Green, and Goodenow. 



ADJECTIVES. 65 

A definitive adjective is one that defines or limits the 
meaning of the noun or pronoun to which it belongs; 
as ; three days ; these books ; the* lesson ; all men. 

These two general classes of adjectives may also be divided into 
several others, of which the following are the most important : — 

A proper adjective is one that is derived from a proper name ; as, 
American, Ciceronian. 

A numeral adjective is one that is used to express number ; as, one, 
two, three; first, second, third. 

One, two, three, etc., are also denominated cardinal adjectives ; and 
first, second, third, etc., ordinal adjectives. 

A pronominal adjective is a word that partakes of the nature of the 
pronoun and the adjective. 

When used to define a noun expressed, it is parsed as an adjective ; 
but when employed as a substitute for a word or phrase, it is parsed 
as a pronoun. Thus, in the sentence, " Some cried one thing, and 
some another," one is to be regarded as an adjective; but, in the 
expression, "Every one has his peculiar trials," one performs the 
office of a pronoun or substitute. 

The principal pronominal adjectives are each, every, either, neither, 
this, that, these, those, all, any, one, other, another, none, some, such, 
same, both, several, few, much, many. 

Each, every, either, and neither, are called distributives, because they 
denote the persons or things that make up a number, considered sep- 
arately ; as, " Each man in his order." 

This, that, these, and those, are called demonstratives, because they 
point out precisely the objects to which they refer. 

Both denotes two objects taken together. Another is composed of an 
I and other. None is used in both numbers. 

What is a definitive adjective ? Examples. Into what other classes 
are adjectives divided ? What is a proper adjective ? Examples. A 
numeral adjective ? Examples. A pronominal adjective ? When is a 
pronominal adjective parsed as an adjective, and when as a pronoun ? Illus- 
trate. What are some of the principal pronominal adjectives ? Which of 
the pronominal adjectives are called distributives, and why ? Which demon- 
stratives, and why ? 

* See note respecting the articles, p. 66. 



66 ETYMOLOGY. — ADJECTIVES. 

Other is thus declined : — 



Singular. 


Plural. 


Norn. Other 


others 


Poss. Other's 


others' 


Obj. Other 


others 


Ind. Other 


others 



Another and one are also declined, but another is used only in the sin- 
gular. 

A participial adjective is a word that has the form of a participle, 
but performs the office of an adjective ; as, a beloved child ; a lasting 
impression. / 

ARTICLES.* 

The definitive adjective a or an, and the, are denom- 
inated articles. 

A or an is called the indefinite article, because it does 
not indicate any particular object ; as, a book ; that is, 
any book. 

The is called the definite article, because it indicates 
some particular object ; as, the book ; that is, some par- 
ticular book. 

How is other declined ? What is a participial adjective ? Examples. 
What words are called articles ? Which is called the indefinite article, 
and why ? Which is called the definite article, and why ? 

* The most approved definition of the article is equally applicable to the 
words one, that, this, these, and other definitives ; and any definition of the 
adjective, which is sufficiently comprehensive to include the definitives this, 
that, etc., will include also the words a and the. With what propriety, then, 
can the articles be separated from other definitives, and made to constitute a 
distinct part of speech ? 

"A or an, and the, are not a distinct part of speech in our language." — 
Webster. 

" The words a or an, and the, are reckoned by some grammarians a sepa- 
rate part of speech ; but, as they in all respects come under the definition of 
the adjective, it is unnecessary, as well as improper, to rank them as a class 
by themselves." — Cannon. 

" It is unnecessarv, in any language, to regard the articles as a distinct 
part of speech." — Buttmann's Greek Grammar. 

The articles are also ranked with adjectives by Priestley, E. Oliver, Bell, 
Elphinston, M'Culloch, D'Orsey, Lindsay, Joel, Greenwood, Smetham, Dal- 
ton, King, Hort, Buchanan, Crane, J. Russell, Frazee, Cutler, Perley, Swett, 
Day, Goodenow, Willard, Robbins, Felton, Snyder, Butler, Fowle, Weld, and 
others. 






ADJ ECTI VES. COMPARISON. 67 

A is used before words beginning with a consonant sound; as, a 
tree, a house, a union, a ewe, a youth, a eulogy, a one, a world. 

The words union, ewe, and eulogy, commence with the consonant 
sound of y ; and the word one commences with the consonant sound 
of w. 

An is used before words beginning with a vowel sound; as, an 
eagle, an hour, an outline. 

An is also employed, by most writers, before words beginning with 
h not silent, when the accent falls on the second syllable. 

Examples : — " An historical piece." — Irving. "An historical 
subject." — Goldsmith. "An hereditary government." — E. Ev- 
erett. u An harmonious whole." — Southey. 
A or an is the Saxon word ane or an, signifying one. 

COMPARISON. 

The comparison of adjectives, is the variation by 
which they express different degrees of quality. 

There are three degrees of comparison; — the posi- 
tive, the comparative, and the superlative. 

The positive degree* is that which expresses the 
simple state of the quality ; as, good, wise. 

The comparative degree denotes that one object pos- 
sesses a higher or lower degree of the quality than 

Before what words is a used ? Examples. When is an used ? Exam- 
ples. What rule is observed respecting the form of the article, before a 
word beginning with h not silent ? Examples. What is the comparison 
of adjectives ? What are the different degrees ? What is the positive 
degree? Examples. What does the comparative degree denote? 
Examples. 

* It has been objected to the positive form, that, as it denotes the quality 
in its simple state, without increase or diminution, it cannot properly be 
called a degree. It should, however, be considered that all adjectives imply 
a general comparison of qualities. Thus, when we say that a man is dis- 
creet, we obviously mean that he has more discretion than the generality of 
men. So also, when we say a man is tall, it is implied that he is tall com- 
pared with other men. Hence arises the difference between the height of a 
tall man and that of a tall tree, each being compared with others of the same 
kind. In this sense, therefore, the positive is strictly and properly a degree 
of comparison. 



68 ETYMOLOGY. — ADJECTIVES. 

another with which it is compared ; as, better, wiser, 
less wise. 

The superlative degree denotes that one of several 
objects possesses a higher or lower degree of the qual- 
ity than any of the rest; as, best, icise, least wise. 

The comparative of adjectives of one syllable, is 
commonly formed by adding r or er to the positive ; as, 
wise, wiser; great, greater; and the superlative, by 
adding si or est ; as, wise, wisest ; great, greatest. 

Adjectives of more than one syllable, are generally 
compared by prefixing more and most to the positive ; 
as, generous, more generous, most generous. 

Dissyllables ending in y or silent e, and those accented on the last 
syllable, are often compared like monosyllables, by er and est; as, 
happy, happier, happiest; noble, nobler, noblest; profound, profounder, 
profoundest. 

Diminution of quality is expressed by less and least, 
whether the adjective is of one syllable or more than 
one ; as, bold, less bold, least bold. 

The foregoing principles respecting the comparison of adjectives, are 
those which conform to the prevailing usage of the language. They 
are, however, in some cases, disregarded by the best writers ; as, " Ob- 
jects of our tenderest cares/' — E. Everett. " The commonest material 
object." — Dana. " The soberest truth." — Channing. 

In all qualities capable of increase or diminution, the number of 
degrees from the highest to the lowest is indefinite. Whenever we 
wish to express any of the different shades of quality, which are not 
denoted by the three forms of the adjective, we employ various mod- 
ifying words and phrases ; as, rather, somewhat, slightly, a little, so, too, 
very, greatly, highly, exceedingly, in a high degree. 

The termination ish is also joined to certain words, to denote a slight 
degree of quality • as, black, blackish ; salt, saltish. 

When either of the words more, most, less, least, is prefixed to an adjec- 

The superlative ? Examples. How are adjectives of one syllable 
generally compared? Examples. How .are adjectives of more than 
one syllable generally compared ? Examples. What classes of dissylla- 
bles are often compared by er and est ? [ What is a dissyllable ?] Exam- 
ples of dissyllables compared by er and est. How is diminution of qual- 
ity expressed? Examples. 



ADJECTIVES. COMPARISON. 69 

hve, it may be considered as forming a part of the adjective. Thus, 
the compound terms more happy and less happy, are regarded as adjec- 
tives in the comparative degree ; but when the words are considered 
separately, the prefixes more, most, etc., are properly adverbs. 

The following adjectives are compared irregularly : — 

Positive. Comparative. Superlative. 

Good better best 

Bad, evil, or ill worse worst 

^ 5 farther* 5 f artnes t 

\ further ( furthest 

c \ foremost (in place) 

former < .. ,- >? ' 



Fore 
Late 



first (in time or order) 
} ( latest (referring to time) 

I last (in order,) 



Little less least 

Much or many more most 

Near nearer 



om 



nearest (re/ erring to place) 

next (in order) 
older { oldest 

elder ) eldest 



Some adjectives in the superlative degree are formed by adding most 
to the comparative, or to the word from which the comparative itself is 
made • as, hind, hinder, hindermost or hindmost ; nether, nethermost ; up, 
upper, uppermost ox upmost ; in, inner, innermost or inmost. 

Adjectives whose signification does not admit of increase or dimi- 
nution, cannot be compared ; as, square, first, one, all, any, wooden^ 
daily, infinite. 

The word perfect,^ and some others}: which are not strictly compara- 
ble, are often qualified by more and most, and by less and least. 

Examples: — "A more perfect civilization." — B. B. Edwards. 
" The most perfect society." — E. Everett. u Less perfect imi- 
tations." — Macaulay. " The more perfect oneness." — Dana. 
Adjectives are sometimes used to perform the office of nouns, as 
" Providence rewards the good;" and nouns to perform the office of 
adjectives, as " An iron fence ;" — "Meadow ground." 

What adjectives are compared irregularly ? Compare them. What 
adjectives cannot be compared ? Examples. 

* " Furilier is the genuine Saxon word ; farther takes precedence in mod- 
ern use." — Smart's Diet. 

t " Usage has given to { more and most perfect' a sanction which we dare 
j hardly controvert." — Crombie. 

X "More complete, most complete, less complete, are common expressions." 
— Webster. 



70 ETYMOLOGY. — PRONOUNS. 

EXERCISES. 

Good, this, seven, round, British, tfie, those, straight, forti- 
eth, white, a!, rich, any, Chinese, two, ati, virtnous, eighteen, 
destructive, % some, Alpine, first, many, boiling water, heated 
iron. 

Which of the foregoing adjectives are descriptive and which defini- 
tive ? Which of them are proper? Which mlmeral ? Wliijpji pronomi- 
nal ? Which participial ? Which are articles ? 

Compare the following adjectives : — 

Strong, robust, sincere, low, swift, grateful, little, bad, stu- 
dious. 

" This site commands an extensive view of the surrounding 
country." — " The rapid current of a large river, the foaming 
cataract, the vivid flash of forked lightning, and the majestic 
rolling of the mighty ocean, are objects which excite in our 
minds emotions of grandeur and sublimity. " — "Every leaf 
and every twig teems with life." — " Homer was the greater 
genius; Virgil the better artist." — "Virginia is the largest 
state in the Union." — " Numbers are expressed by ten Arabic 
characters." 

Point out the adjectives in the foregoing sentences. Which of them 
are descriptive ? Which definitive ? Which are proper ? WJdch numer- 
al? Which pronominal? Which participial? Which are articles? 
Which of the descriptive adjectives are in the positive degree ? Com- 
pare them. Which are in the comparative ? Compare them. Which 
in the superlative ? Compare them. 

Write sentences containing examples of descriptive and definitive 
adjectives ; and others containing examples of adjectives in each of 
the three degrees of comparison. 



THE PRONOUN. 
A Pronoun* is a word used to supply the place of a 
noun; as, "When Caesar had conquered Gaul, he 
turned his army against his country." 

What is a pronoun? Examples. 

* The term pronoun is derived from two Latin words, pro and nomen, 
which signify for a name. 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 71 

The word which is represented by a pronoun, usually precedes it, 
and is hence called its antecedent. 

Pronouns may be divided into three general classes ; 
— personal, relative, and interrogative. 

PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

A. personal pronoun is a pronoun that expresses per- 
son and number of itself. 

The personal pronouns are I, thou, or you, he, she, 
and it. I is of the first person ; thou or you is of the 
second; and he, she, and it, are of the third. 

Pronouns, like nouns, have gender, person, number, 
and case. 

Personal pronouns are varied to distinguish the numbers and cases ; 
but variety of form to distinguish the genders, is confined to the third 
person singular. 

As persons speaking or spoken to, are supposed to be present, and 
their sex sufficiently obvious, variety of form in the corresponding 
pronouns, to express distinction of gender, is unnecessary. But per- 
sons or things spoken of, being considered as absent, it is proper to 
make a distinction of gender ; and the third person of the pronoun is 
accordingly distinguished by using he for the masculine, she for the 
feminine, and it for the neuter. 

DECLENSION OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

First Person. 





Singular. 


Plural 


Nom. 


I 


we* 


Poss. 


My or mine 


our 


Obj. 


Me 


us 


Ind. 


Me or I 


we 



What is the antecedent of a pronoun ? Into what general classes are 
pronouns divided ? What is a personal pronoun ? Enumerate the per- 
sonal pronouns, and give the person of each. "What modifications have 
pronouns ? For what are personal pronouns varied ? Decline I. 

* The plural of pronouns in the first and second persons, does not bear the 
same relation to the singular as the plural of nouns. Thus, the plural men 
is equivalent to a repetition of the singular man. But the plural we is equiv- 
alent to the singular /. together with others in the second or third person, 
and not to the singular / repeated. So also, the plural of thou is often equiva- 
lent to thou, together with others in the third person. 

7 



72 ETYMOLOGY. PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

Mine and thine were formerly employed instead of my and thy, before 
words beginning with the sound of a vowel. This usage is now con- 
fined chiefly to poetry and the solemn style of prose. 

Examples : — " I kept myself from mine iniquity." — Ps. 18 : 23. 
" Mine hour is not yet come." — John 2:4. 
" God stay thee in thine agony, my boy." — Willis. 
The first person singular is seldom used in the independent case, 
except by exclamation. The first person plural, when used independ- 
ently, properly takes the same form as the nominative, though the 
objective form is sometimes employed. 

Examples : — " O wretched we /" — Dry den. " O rare we ! " — Cow- 
per. " Ah ! luckless T. — Francis. 
" Ah me ! neglected on the lonesome plain." — Beattie. 
" Me miserable ! which way shall I fly 
Infinite wrath, and infinite despair?" — Milton. 



Second Person. — 


Solemn Style. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


Nom. Thou 
Poss. Thy or thine 
Obj. Thee 
Ind. Thou 


ye or you 

your 

you 

ye or you 



The pronoun thou is employed in addressing the Deity, in the 
sacred Scriptures, and in poetry. It also occurs in other solemn or 
impassioned prosaic writings, and the Society of Friends still use it 
in common discourse 

The poets sometimes employ ye instead of you, for the objective plu- 
ral j as, 

" Brother, sweet sister, peace around ye dwell." — Hemans. 
" 1 told ye then he should prevail and speed 
On his bad errand." — Milton. 
This usage is generally regarded as inelegant. 

Second Person. — Common Style. 

Singular. Plural. 

Nom. You you 

Poss. Your your 

Obj. You you 

Ind. You you 

The word you* was originally plural in signification, but it is now 

Decline thou. Wlien is thou employed! Examples. Decline you. 
What was the original use of you ? 

* No usage of our language is more fully established than that which 
recognizes you as the representative of nouns in the singular number. 

" In the using of you to one, as well as to more than one, (which is the 



PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 73 

universally employed in popular discourse, to represent either a sin- 
gular or a plural noun. 







Third Pers 


ON. 










Masculine. 


Feminine. 




Neuter. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


Singular. 


Plural. 


Singidar. 


Plural. 


Nom. 


He 


they 


She 


they 


It 




they 


Poss. 


His 


their 


Her 


their 


Its 




their 


Obj. 


Him 


them 


Her 


them 


It 




them 


Ind. 


He 


they 


She 


they 


It 




they 






Decline he, she, 


and it. 









Language of the Nation, not only spoken by the private persons, but extant 
in the both private and publick Writings of it,) we do seem to imitate the 
French, who, as they have one word, viz., tu for thou, and one ; viz., vos for 
ye ; so they have one which they use both to one, and to more than one, 
indifferently; namely, voas, you." — Walkers Treatise of English Parti- 
cles; London, 1653. 

Brightland, one of the earliest of our English grammarians, who wrote in 
1710, classes you with the singular pronouns /, thou, and he. Greenwood, 
in his celebrated grammar, which appeared the following year, says, " Thou 
or you is of the second person singular." This disposition of you was fol- 
lowed by the author of the British Grammar, and by Farro, Fisher, Bu- 
chanan, Dilworth, Smetham, Menye, and several other grammatical writers 
of the last century. 

Mr. Murray's grammar first appeared in 1795. Following the practice of 
the Society of Friends, — the community in which he was educated, — he 
restricted you to the plural number ; and such was the influence of his exam- 
ple, tnat this word was, for a time, very generally excluded from the list of 
singular pronouns. 

There has, however, always existed a respectable class of authors, who have 
treated the pronoun you as singular, when applied to an individual; and 
during the last twenty-five or thirty years, the number of this class has very 
rapidly increased. 

" It is altogether absurd to consider you as exclusively a plural pronoun in 
the modern English language. It may be a matter of history, that it was 
originally used as a plural only ; and it may be a matter of theory, that it 
was first applied to individuals on a principle of flattery ; but the fact is, that 
it is now our second person singular. When applied to an individual, it 
never excites any idea either of plurality or of adulation ; but excites, pre- 
cisely and exactly, the idea that was excited by the use of thou, in an earlier 
stage of the language." — Jeffrey, in the Edinburgh Review. 

" If a word, once exclusively plural, beeomes, by universal use, the sign of 
individuality, it must take its place in the singular number. That this is the 
fact with you, is proved by national usage." — Webster. 

A list of additional authorities is subjoined for the gratification of the curi- 
ous student. The writers here enumerated treat the pronoun you as singu- 
lar, when applied to an individual: — Angell, C. Adams, A. Alden, Booth, 
Bell, Brace, Barnard, Barrie, John Barrett, D. Blair, Cochran, Cutler, Cobb, 
P. Davis, Elmore, Emmons, Felton, Fletcher, Fuller, Fowle, Gilbert, Goode- 
now, Goldsbury, R. W. Green, Gurney,<Joel, Judson, Lewis, Morley, M'Cul- 
loch, Pullen, J. M. Putnam, Picket, Pinnock, Ross, W. E. Russell, Caleb 
Reed, Snyder, Swett, R. C. Smith, P. Smith, Stearns, Sanborn, Todd, 
Ticken, Wilcox, Wilbur, G. Wilson, J. P. Wilson, Weld, J. Ward. 



74 ETYMOLOGY. — PERSONAL PRONOUNS. 

In the third person, masculine and feminine, the independent ease 
has usually the nominative form, though the use of the objective is not 
wholly destitute of authority.* 

Examples : — " Ah luckless he ! " — Bhenstone. 
u God from the mount of Sinai, whose gray top 
Shall tremble, he descending, will himself 
Ordain them laws." — Milton. 

11 Miserable they, 
Who here entangled in the gathering ice, 
Take their last look of the descending sun." — Thomson. 

His-f was formerly employed as the possessive of both he and it. 

Examples : — " Put up again thy sword into his place." — Matt. 
26 : 52. " Learning hath his infancy, when it is but beginning, 
and almost childish." — Bacon. 

My, thy, his, her, its, our, your, and their, are sometimes, though im- 
properly, termed pronominal adjectives. 

Mine, thine, his, hers, ours, yours, and theirs, are possessive pro- 
nouns, used in construction either as nominatives or objectives ; % as, 
" Your pleasures are past, mine are to come." Here the word mine, 
which is used as a substitute for my pleasures, is the subject of the 
verb are. 

The words hers, its, ours, yours, theirs, are sometimes improperly writ- 
ten her's, it's, our's, yourh, theirs. This error should be carefully avoided. 

What is said of the possessive pronouns, mine, thine, etc. ? Illustrate 
their use. 

* " Of the two forms, { him excepted ' and c he excepted,' the former (con- 
trary to the sentiment of the majority of grammarians) is the correct one." 
— Latham. 

" This inaccessible high strength, the seat 
Of deity supreme, us dispossessed, 
He trusted to have seized." — Milton. 

fThe possessive its does not appear before the seventeenth century." — 
Booth. " Its is not found in the Bible, except by misprint. " — G. Brown. 

t Mine, thine, etc., are often parsed as pronouns in the possessive case and 
governed by nouns understood. Thus, in the sentence, " This book is mine," 
the word mine is said to possess book. That the word book is not here under- 
stood, is obvious from the fact, that, when it is supplied, the phrase becomes, 
not " mine book," but " my book," the pronoun being changed from mine to 
my ; so that we are made, by this practice, to parse mine as possessing a 
word understood, before which it cannot properly be used. The word mine 
is here evidently employed as a substitute for the two words, my and book. 

" That mine, thine, yours, his, hers, theirs, do not constitute a possessive 
case, is demonstrable, for they are constantly used as the nominatives to 
verbs and as objectives after verbs and prepositions." — Webster. 

See also Dr. Wilson, Smart, Jenkins, Goodenow, Jaudon, Felch, Hazen, 
Todd, R. Smith, nnd P*vi« 



RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 75 

The words myself, thyself, yourself, himself, herself, and itself, with 
their plurals, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves, are called com- 
pound personal pronouns. They are frequently joined to nouns and 
simple pronouns, to express emphasis ; as, " You yourselves are the 
contrivers of your own ruin;" — " The mountains themselves decay 
with years." They are also used when the subject and the object 
of the verb both represent the same person or thing. "I blame 
myself;" — " He blames me." I and myself here denote the same 
person, and we use the compound pronoun. 

The word self, when used alone, is a noun ; as, " The love of self is 
predominant." 



RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

A relative pronoun is a pronoun that relates directly 
to some preceding word or phrase, and serves to con- 
nect sentences. 

The connective office of a relative pronoun should always be pointed 
out in parsing. Thus, in the compound sentence, " Bless them that 
curse you," the pronoun that is the subject of the verb curse in one 
of the members ; and it relates to them, which is the object of the 
verb bless in the other member. A relative pronoun always relates to 
some word out of the clause in which it stands, and thus joins the two 
clauses together. 

The words used as relative pronouns, are who, which, 
that, and what. 

Who is applied to persons, and v-hich to irrational 
animals and things without life ; as, " The man who is 
accustomed to reflect, finds instruction in every thing;" 
— "I have found the book which I had lost. 7 ' 

That is used for who or which, and may be applied 
either to persons or things: as "He that gathereth in 

What are the compound personal pronouns' 1 . When are they employed! 
Examples. What is a relative pronoun ? Illustrate the connective office 
of relatives. Enumerate the relative pronouns. What are the respec- 
tive applications of who, which, and that? Examples of each. 
7# 



76 ETYMOLOGY. — RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 

summer, is a wise son ;" — " A city that is set on a hill, 
cannot be hid." 

Who, which, and that, are thus declined : — 



Sing, and Plur. 


Sing, and Plur. 


Sing, and Plur 


Norn. Who 


Which 


That 


Poss. Whose 


Whose* 


Whose 


Obj. ' Whom 


Which 


That 


Ind. Who 


Which 






The word what is often used as a compound relative pronoun, 
equivalent in signification to that which] or those which; as, " One 
man admires what [that which] displeases another." What here sus- 
tains the relation of both the nominative and the objective case. As 
a nominative, it is the subject of the verb displeases ; as an objective, 
it is the object of admires. 

What sometimes performs, at once, the office of an adjective and 
a pronoun; as, " What time remained, was well employed." As 
an adjective, what here qualifies time; as a pronoun, it is the subject of 
the verb remained. 

Decline the relatives who, which, and that. How is what often used? 
Examples. IVJiat two parts of speech does what sometimes represent? 
Examples. 

* The possessive of which is, in many grammars, marked as wanting; but 
the use of whose as the possessive both of who and which , may now be 
regarded as fully established by the authority of our most eminent writers 
and speakers. 

Examples: — " Cedar groves, whose gigantic branches threw a refreshing 
coolness over the verdure." — Prescott. "At such times, I am apt 
to seek the Hall of Justice, whose deep, shadowy arcades extend across 
the upper end of the Court." — Irving. " Statues, whose miserable 
and mutilated fragments are the models of modern art."— E. Everett. 
" Impressions, whose power can scarcely be calculated." — Cheever. 
" He wanted learning, whose place no splendor of genius can supply to 
the lawyer." — Wirt. "Dramas, whose termination is the total ruin 
of their heroes." — J. G. Lockhart. "A triangle, or three-sided 
figure, one of whose sides is perpendicular to another." — Brougham. 
Other examples from the best authorities might be multiplied at pleas- 
ure. 
"I have given whose as the genitive of which; not only because this usage 
is sanctioned by classical authority, but likewise, because the other form, of 
which, is frequently awkward and inelegant." — Dr. Crombic. 

t Many grammarians erroneously substitute the two equivalent words, 
that which) and parse them instead of the original word what. This is pars- 
ing their own language, and not the author's. The word what, when com- 
pound, should be parsed as performing the office of two nominatives, or two 
objectives, or of both a nominative and an objectivp. 



RELATIVE PRONOUNS. 77 

Whoever, whichever, whatever, and whosoever, whichsoever, what- 
soever, are also used as compound pronouns, and parsed in the same 
manner as the compound what. Thus, in the sentence, " Whoever 
disregards the laws of his being-, must suffer the penalty," whoever is 
the subject of the two verbs, disregards and must suffer. 

Whoso was formerly used as a compound pronoun, in the sense of 
whosoever ; as, " Whoso, therefore, shall swear by the altar, sweareth 
by it, and by all things thereon." It is now nearly obsolete. 

Wliich and what are sometimes used as adjectives; as, " For 
ivhich reason ;" — " What tongue can tell?" 

The distinction between personal and relative pronouns should 
receive special attention. Each of the 'personal pronouns is used to 
represent one of the three persons, and no other. Thus / is always 
of the first person, and he always of the third. A relative pronoun 
does not express person of itself, but always depends on its ante- 
cedent for person. Thus, we may say, " I who speak ;" " You who 
speak;" " He who speaks." Who is here employed in each of 
the three persons. 

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS. 

An interrogative pronoun is a pronoun that is used in 
asking a question; as, " Who is this?" The words 
used as interrogative pronouns, are who, which, and 
what. • 

Who, used interrogatively, is applied only to persons ; which and 
what are applied to both persons and things. 

Whether, signifying which of the two, was formerly used as an inter- 
rogative ; as, " Whether of them twain did the will of his father ? " In 
this sense, it is now out of use. 

EXERCISES. 
Give the person, number, and case of each of the following pro- 
nouns : — 

His, she, its, thee, he, they, our, I, them. 

What other words are employed as compound relatives'? Examples. 
Give examples of which and what, used as adjectives. Explain and illus- 
trate the distinction between personal and relative pronouns. What is an 
interrogative pronoun ? Enumerate the interrogatives. To what are 
the interrogatives who. which, and what, respectively applied'? 



78 ETYMOLOGY. — VERBS. 

What personal pronoun is in the third person singular, masculine gender, 
and possessive case ? — in the second person singular, solemn style, and objec- 
tive case ? — in the third person plural, nominative case ? — in the first per- 
son plural, objective case ? — in the first person singular, possessive case ? — 
in the second person plural, nominative case ? — in the third person singular, 
neuter gender, possessive case ? — in the second person singular, common 
style, nominative case ? — in the third person singular, feminine gender, 
nominative case ? — in the first person plural' possessive case ? 

"As he was valiant, I honor him." — "The crime which 
has been once committed, is committed again with less reluc- 
tance." — " I charge thee, fling away ambition." — " He that 
trusteth in his riches, shall fall." — " Virtue is most laudable 
in that state which makes it most difficult." — " Who wrote 
the letter?" — " You wrong yourself." — " O thou that rollest 
above, round as the shield of my fathers ! " 

Point out the pronouns in the foregoing sentences. "Which of them 
are personal ? "Which relative ? W 7 hich interrogative ? Give the per- 
son, number, gender, and case of each ; with the reasons. 

Model. — He (in the first sentence above) is a pronoun, because it 
is a word used to supply the place of a noun ; — personal, because it 
expresses person and number of itself 5 — in the third person, because 
it denotes a person spoken of ; — in the singular number, because it 
denotes but one ; — in the masculine gender, because it denotes a 
male ; — and in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the 
verb was. 

Write sentences containing examples of personal, relative, and inter- 
rogative pronouns. 



THE VEEB. 
A Verb* is a word that expresses an assertion or 
affirmation :f as, I am ; I teach ; I am taught. 

What is a verb ? Examples. 

* The term verb is derived from the Latin verbum, which signifies a word. 
This part of speech is so called because the verb is the principal word in a 
sentence. 

tThe idea of a verb is not easily expressed in a single sentence. The 



VERBS. 79 

A Verb may also be used to command, exhort, re- 
quest, and inquire, as u Be silent," " Spare me" u Have 
you written the letter?" and to express an action or 
state in a general and abstract sense, as doing, to obey. 

Verbs are divided into two general classes ; — tran- 
sitive and intransitive* 

A transitive verb is a verb that governs an objective 
case; as, u Henry has learned his lesson" 

The term transitive signifies passi?ig over. 

An intransitive verb is a verb that does not govern 

an objective case ; as, "He is;" — " The horse runs." 

There are some verbs which may be used either transitively or 
; intransitively, the construction alone determining to which class they 
belong. 

Transitive verbs have two forms, called the active 
and the passive voice.-f 

The active voice represents the subject or nominative 
as acting upon some object. 

What other uses have verbs ? Into what general classes are verbs 
divided ? What is a transitive verb ? Examples. What is an intran- 
sitive verb? Examples. What two forms have transitive verbs? 
: What does the active voice represent ? 

definition here adopted is based on the most distinguishing characteristic of 
this part of speech ; and is substantially the same as that of Priestley, Blair, 
Harris, Beattie, Crombie, Andrews and Stoddard, the British Grammar, 
! Rees's Encyc, Brewster's Encyc, Grant, SutclifFe, M'Culioch, Bullions, 
Fletcher, Cooper, Goldsbury, Frost, Parkhurst, Butler, Hart, and others. 

* " The proper division of verbs is into transitive and intransitive ; for this 
distinction is practical, and has an effect in the formation of sentences, which 
is not true of the other distinctions." — Goodenow. 

'• This classification of verbs is founded on their use in the construction of 
sentences." — Frazee. 

The division of verbs into transitive and intransitive is also adopted in the 
grammars of Arnold, Webster, M'Culioch, Hart, Crane, Frost, Butler, Bul- 
lions, Connon, R. W. Green, Reed, Perley, Ussher, Fuller, Staniford, Bing- 
ham, Locke, Ticknor, Lindsay, Earl, Spear, Story, Webber, Nutting, Cobb, 
and others. 

t" Active and passive do not denote two different kinds of verb, but one 
kind under two different forms, denominated the active and passive voice." — 
Bullions. 

" It needs no argument to prove that c I am struck' is just as really a mod- 



80 ETYMOLOGY. ■ 



VERBS. 



The passive voice represents the nominative as being 
acted upon. 

In the sentence, " Csesar conquered Pompey," the verb conquered 
represents the nominative Caesar as acting upon the object Pompey. 
The verb conquered is therefore in the active voice. But in the 
expression, " Pompey was conquered by Caesar," the verb was con- 
quered represents the nominative Pompey as being acted upon. The 
verb was conquered is therefore in the passive voice. 

[When a verb is said to be transitive, and no mention is made of the 
voice, it is understood to be in the active voice. The passive voice of a 
transitive verb is often denominated a passive verb.] 

A verb in the passive voice is composed of the perfect participle of 
a transitive verb and one of the forms of the verb to be ; as, are 
heard, were heard, am heard, to be heard. 

Most intransitive verbs do not admit of the passive form. Thus, 
instead of saying, " Very great abuses are crept into this entertain- 
ment," it would be better to say, " Yery great abuses have cropt into 
this entertainment." But the verbs come and go, and perhaps a few 
others, may, in some cases, properly assume the passive form ; as, 
"The time is come." — Channing. " The sharp touches of the 
chisel are gone from the rich tracery of the arches." — Irving. 

Verbs are also divided into regular and irregular. 

A regular verb is one that forms its past tense and 

perfect participle by adding d or ed to the present ; as, 

present, love ; past, loved ; perf. part., loved ; call, called, 

called. 

Regular verbs ending in silent e, form their past tense and perfect 
participle by the addition of d only ; and those ending in any other 
letter, by the addition of ed. 

The passive voice ? Illustrate. Of what is a verb in the passive 
voice composed ? Examples. What verbs do not generally admit the pas- 
sive form ? Illustrate. What exceptions are there to this principle 1 Ex- 
amples. Into what other classes are verbs divided ? What is a reg- 
ular verb ? Examples. 

ification of to strike^ as ' I have struck ' is ; and yet, under the old classifica- 
tion of active, passive, and neuter, the pupil was taught to consider these 
forms as two verbs belonging to different classes." — Hart. 



VERBS. MODES. 81 

The verbs hear, pay, say, and lay, which do not end in e, and which 
add d only for the past tense and perfect participle, are classed with 
irregular verbs. 

An irregular verb is one that does not form its past 

tense and perfect participle by adding d or ed to the 

present; as, present, see ; past, saiv ; perf. part., seen ; 

go, went, gone. 

EXERCISES. 

" The tree grows." — " Columbus discovered America." — 
" You were expected." — " Man is mortal." — " We are ob- 
served." — "He received an injury." 

Point out the verbs in the foregoing sentences. Which of them are 
regular ? Which irregular ? Which are transitive ? Which intransi- 
tive ? Which passive ? 

Name three regular verbs ; — three irregular. 

Write sentences containing examples of transitive ; intransitive and 
passive verbs. 

MODE. 

Mode is a term used to denote the manner in which 
the verb is employed. 

Verbs have five modes j* — the indicative, the sub- 

What is an irregular verb ? Examples. What is mode? Enume- 
rate the different modes. 

* The recognition of a potential mode in so many of our popular grammars, 
affords a striking example of the power of custom. The expressions, " It 
may rain," " He may go," " I can ride," etc., are manifestly declarative ; and 
the verbs may rain, may go, can ride, etc., are appropriately ranked in the 
indicative mode. " I can walk," expresses quite as distinct a declaration as 
u I walk." Thus, " I can walk," declares that I have the power to walk ; 
while " I walk," declares the act of walking. 

Most authors who recognize a potential mode, still class such expressions 
as " If I should go," with the subjunctive. But, " I should go," asserts or 
declares the same thing that " If I should go," expresses under a condition; 
and hence the difference between them is precisely the distinction between 
the indicative and the subjunctive. And since the use of the conjunction if, 
produces no other effect than to change the sentence from a declarative to a 
conditional form, it is obvious that all of its potential qualities must still 
remain ; hence, the clause, " If I should go," has the same claim to be ranked 
with the potential, as " I should go." If, then, this form of the verb is 
classed with the subjunctive mode when it is used conditionally, consistency 



82 ETYMOLOGY. — - VERBS. 

junctive, the imperative, the infinitive, and the partici- 
pial* 

The indicative mode is that which indicates or de- 
clares, or asks a question; as, He can learn; Does 
he learn ? Can he learn ? 

The common form of the indicative mode is that which merely 
expresses a declaration or an interrogation ; as, " He improves;" — 
" Will you go?" 

The potential form of the indicative is that which expresses a dec- 
laration or asks a question, and also implies possibility, libei*ty, power, 
determination, obligation, necessity, etc.; as, " He can walk;" — 
" We must return ;" — " What would they have ? " 

[In speaking of the common form of the indicative, it will gener- 

— * 

What is the indicative mode ? Examples. What is the common form 

of . the indicative mode ? Examples. The potential form ? Examples. 

would seem to require that it should be classed with the indicative when its 
use is declaratory. 

Do the expressions, " He would walk," " They should learn," imply will 
or obligation, more clearly than " I will obey," " Thou shalt not kill," " He 
ought to learn" ? 

" The mere expressions of will, possibility, liberty, obligation, etc., belong 
to the Indicative Mode." — Lowth. 

"As to the potential mode, it may, I think, in all cases, be resolved into 
either the indicative or the subjunctive." — Beattie's Theory of Language. 

" The forms of expression, I can %q, we may ride, he must obey, are really 
declaratory, and properly belong to the Indicative." — Webster. 

The potential mode is also rejected by Jamieson, H. Ward, Martin, Coote, 
Cobbett, Lewis, Hazlitt, Hodgson, St. Gluentin, Bell, Barrie, Buchanan, Coar, 
Trinder, Adam, Arnold, Perry, Ross, Nutting, J. P. Wilson, Willard, Hal- 
lock, Dearborn, J. Flint, D» Adams, Judson, Pue, Cardell, Cutler, Balch, 
French, and others. 

* If the participle is properly regarded as a form of the verb, it is obvious 
that it must be employed in some mode. In the conjugation of verbs, it is 
uniformly introduced in connection with the other modes, and treated in every 
respect as a mode. 

"The participle is merely a mode of the verb, and it might properly be 
termed the participial mode." — Sanborn. 

" If modes be the manner of representing the verb, we see no good reason 
why participles should not be reckoned a mode." — Goodenow. 

" That the participle is a mere mode of the verb, is manifest, if our defini- 
tion of a verb be admitted." — Lowth. 

" Mr. Murray contends strenuously for the participle, as c a mode of the 
verb,' and yet has not the consistency of assigning it a place among the 
modes, as it must have, if it be any verb at all." — Willard. 

The participle is also ranked as a mode of the verb by Elphinston, Allen 
and Cornwell, Connell, De Sacy, St. Quentin, Felch, Fletcher, Gurney, Day, 
and others. 



VERBS. — MODES, 83 

ally be found convenient to employ merely the term indicative mode ; 
and in speaking of the potential form, to designate it as the potential 
indicative, .] 

Were is sometimes used for would be or should be ; as, " Ah ! what 
were man, should Heaven refuse to hear?" 

Had is also occasionally employed for would have, or should have ; as, 
"Had thought been all, sweet speech had [would have] been denied." — 
Young. 

The subjunctive mode is that which implies condi- 
tion, supposition, or uncertainty ; as, "If he had the 
opportunity, he would improve rapidly ;" — " Take 
heed, lest any man deceive you." 

Every verb in the subjunctive implies two propositions, the one 
principal, and the other subordinate. The subordinate clause is usu- 
ally preceded by a conjunction, subjoining it to the antecedent or 
principal clause, on which it depends. Thus, in the sentence, " I 
will remain if you desire it," the dependent clause, " you desire 
it," is preceded by the conjunction if, which subjoins it to the prin- 
cipal clause, " I will remain," 

The condition of a verb in the subjunctive is sometimes expressed 
by transposition, without the aid of a conjunction ; as, " Had he taken 
the counsel of friends, he would have been saved from ruin." 

The subjunctive mode, like the indicative, admits of the potential 
form; as, " He might improve, if he would make the necessary 
effort." 

\ The imperative mode is that which commands, 
exhorts, entreats, or permits ; as, "Go thou ;" — "Study 
diligently;" — "Forgive us our trespasses;" — "De- 
part in peace." 

The infinitive mode is the root or first form of the 
verb, used to express an action or state indefinitely ; as, 
to hear, to speak. It is generally distinguished by the 
sign to. 

What is the subjunctive mode ? Examples. What does every sub- 
junctive clause imply ? Illustrate. What modification in form does the 
subjunctive admit ? Examples. What is the imperative mode ? Exam- 
ples. The infinitive ? Examples. How is the infinitive generally 
distinguished ? 

8 



84 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

When the particle to is employed in forming the infinitive, it is to 
be regarded as a part of the verb. 

Participles. 

The participle is a mode of the verb, partaking of 
the properties of the verb and the adjective ; as, seeing, 
seen, having seen, having been seen. 

Participles may be classed under two general divis- 
ions ; — imperfect* and perfect. 

An imperfect participle denotes the continuance of 
an action or state ; as, calling, seeing, being seen. 

Imperfect participles relate to present, past, or future time, accord- 
ing as they are connected with verbs in the present, past, or future 
tense. 

A perfect participle denotes the completion of an 
action or state ; as, called, seen, having seen. 

Participles are also divided into two other classes, called simple 
and compound. 

A simple participle is a participle that consists of only one word ; 
as, doing, done. 

A compound participle is a participle that is composed of two or 
more words ; as, being seen, having seen, having been seen. Being 

What is the participle ? Examples. Into what general classes are 
participles divided? What is an imperfect participle? Examples. 
To what time do imperfect participles relate ? What is a perfect partici- 
ple? Examples. A simple participle ? Examples. A compound parti- 
ciple ? Examples. 

*." The distinguishing characteristic of this participle is, that it denotes 
an unfinished and progressive state of the being, action, or passion ; it is 
therefore properly denominated the imperfect participle." — G. Brown. 

" All that is peculiar to the participles is, that the one signifies a perfect, 
and the other an imperfect action." — Fickbourn-s Dissertation on the Eng- 
lish Verb. 

" The most unexceptionable distinction which grammarians make between 
the participles, is, that the one points to the continuation of the action, pas- 
sion, or state, denoted by the verb, and the other, to the completion of it." — 
Murray. 

See also Grant, Baldwin, Lewis, M'Culloch, Churchill, Connon, Butler, 
and R. W. Green. 



VERBS. — TENSE. 85 

seen is a compound imperfect participle ; having seen and having been 
seen are compound perfect participles. 

Participles, like other modifications of the verb, are either tran- 
sitive or intransitive. Thus, seeing and having seen are transitive ; 
being and ivalking, intransitive. Transitive participles are also dis- 
tinguished by voices ; as, active, seeing, having seen; passive, seen, 
having been seen. 

Participles often lose their verbal character and become adjectives ; 
as, "A moving spectacle;" — "A revised edition." They are then 
called participial adjectives. 

Participles are also used to perform the office of nouns ; as, " They 
could not avoid submitting to this influence." When used in this man- 
ner, they are called participial nouns. 

Besides the regular grammatical modes expressed by the verb, it is 
obvious that there must be numerous other distinctions of manner, 
which can be indicated only by the use of various modifying words 
and phrases ; as, u The storm beats violently ;" — " The horse sleeps 
standing." s 

TENSE. 

Tense is the distinction of time. 

Verbs have six tenses ; — the present, the past* the 
future, the present perfect, the past perfect, and the 
future perfect. 

The present tense denotes present time ; as, I write ; 
I am writing. 

The past (imperfect) tense denotes indefinite past 
time ; as, I wrote ; I was ivriting. 

Name a transitive participle ; — intransitive. A participle in the active 
voice ; — in the passive. What is tense ? Enumerate the tenses. What 
is the present tense ? Examples. The past tense ? Examples. 

* The names of the tenses adopted in this treatise, have the sanction of 
Connell, Skillern, Hiley, Butler, Perley, Goodenow, Fletcher, and Farnum. 
Similar terms, corresponding with the signification of the tenses, are also 
employed by Webster, Frazee, Day, Swett, Felton, Brace, Simmonite, Flower, 
Barrie, and others. 

" Several of the old names either convey no idea, or an erroneous one. 
The Imperfect Tense does not in one case of a hundred, signify an imperfect 
action ; the Perfect Tense is not the only one which represents a finished 
action ; and, if we speak of First and Second Future Tenses, we may with 
equal propriety have First and Second Present, and First and Second Past 
Tenses. " — Perley. 



86 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

The future tense denotes indefinite future time ; as, 
I shall write ; I shall be writing. 

The present perfect {perfect) tense denotes past time, 
and also conveys an allusion to the present ; as, I have 
written ; I have been writing. 

The past perfect {pluperfect) tense denotes past time 
that precedes some other past time, to which it refers ; 
as, " When he had delivered the message, he took his 
departure.'' 

The future perfect {second future) tense denotes fu- 
ture time that precedes some other future time, to which 
it refers; as, "I shall have finished the letter before he 



Besides these six grammatical tenses there are numerous other dis- 
tinctions of time, which are expressed by various modifying words and 
phrases ; as, " I will go immediately ;" — "I will go soon ;" — "I will 
go in an hour ;" — "I will go to-morrow ;" — "I will go in the coarse of 

the week." 

NUMBER AND PERSON. 

Verbs have two numbers and three persons. 

The person and number of a verb are always the 
same as the person and number of its subject or nom- 
inative. 

In the simple form of the present and past indicative, the second 
person singular of the solemn style ends regularly in st or est, as Thou 
seest, Thou hear est, Thou saw est, Thou heardest ; and the third person 
singular of the present, in s or es, as He hears, He wishes ; and also in 
th or eth, as He saith, He loveth. 

In the simple form of the present indicative, the third person sin- 
gular of the common or familiar style, ends in s or es ; as, He sleeps, 
He rises. 

The first person singular of the solemn style, and the first and second 
persons singular of the common style, have the same form as the three 
persons plural. 

What is the future tense ? Examples. What is the present perfect 
tense ? Examples. The past perfect tense ? Examples. The future 
perfect tense ? Examples. How many persons and numbers have 
verbs ? With what do the person and number of a verb correspond ? 



VERBS. NUMBER AND PERSON. 87 

In forming the compound tenses of the verb, the auxiliaries only are 
varied. 

Be and ought, and the auxiliaries shall, will, may, can, must, are irreg- 
ular in their modifications to denote person. 

The verb need is often used in the third person singular of the indica- 
tive present, without the personal termination. 

Examples : — " The truth need not be disguised." — Channing, 
" It need only be added." — Prescott. " It need not be said." — 
E. Everett. " There was one condition, which need not be men- 
tioned.'' — Irving. " Nothing need, be concealed." — Cooper. 
"Time need not be wasted." — G. B. Emerson. " No other his- 
torian of that country need be mentioned." — Hall am. " The 
reader need not be told." — Paley. " This is a species of incon- 
sistency, of which no man need be ashamed." — Edinburgh Re- 
view. li It need not surprise us." — J. G. Lockhart. "It need 
scarcely be said." — N. A. Review. " Need a bewildered trav- 
eller wish for more ? " — Wordsworth. 

The subjunctive of all verbs except be, takes the same form as the 
indicative. Good writers were formerly much accustomed to drop 
the personal termination in the subjunctive present, and write, " If 
lie have,''' " If he deny," etc., for " If he has". " If he denies " 
etc. ; but this termination is now generally retained, unless an aux- 
iliary is understood. # Thus, "If he hear" may properly be used 
for "If he shall hear " or " If he should hear," when the auxiliary 
shall or should is manifestly implied ; but when no such ellipsis is 
obvious, the indicative form, " If he hears," is to be preferred. 

Examples : — "If the dramatist attempts to create a being answer- 
ing to one of these descriptions, he fails." — Macaulay. " If he 
takes the tone of invective, it leads him to be uncharitable." : — 
Southey. " If courage intrinsically consists in the defiance of 
danger and pain, the life of the Indian is a continual exhibition 
of itjj — Irving. " He must feign, if he does not feel, the spirit 
and inspiration of the place." — Story. "If any pupil fails to 
reach this point, he is said to fall below the standard." — N. A. 
Review. Other authorities might be multiplied at pleasure. 

Infinitives and participles have neither number nor person. 

What is said respecting the form of verbs in the subjunctive mode ? 
Illustrate. What properties are wanting in infinitives and participles ? 

* " The use of the present tense of the subjunctive, without the personal ter- 
minations, was formerly very general. It was reserved for the classical wri- 
ters of the eighteenth century to lay aside the pedantic forms, if he go, if it 
proceed, though become, etc., and restore the native idiom of the language." 
Webster. 

■ , 8* 



88 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

CONJUGATION. 

The conjugation of a verb is the regular combina- 
tion and arrangement of its several modes, tenses, num- 
bers, and persons. 

PRINCIPAL PARTS. 

The three principal parts of a verb are the present 
tense , the past tense, and the perfect participle. These 
are called the principal or radical parts, because all the 
other parts are formed from them. 

AUXILIARIES. 
An auxiliary verb is one that is used to aid in the 
conjugation of other verbs. 

The auxiliaries are do, be, have,, shall, will, may, can, with their 
variations, and must, which has no variation. Do, be, have, and will, 
are also used as principal verbs. Thus, in the sentence, "I have 
heard the news," have is used as an auxiliary to the principal verb 
heard; but in the sentence, "I have no time to devote to trifles," 
have is employed as a principal verb. 

Shall and Will. 

In affirmative sentences, shall, in the first person, simply foretells ; 
as, "I shall write." In the second and third persons, shall is used 
potentially, denoting a promise, command, or determination; as, 
" You shall be rewarded ;" — - " Thou shalt not kill ;" — " He shall 
be punished." Will, in the first person, is used potentially, denot- 
ing a, promise or determination; as, "I will go, at all hazards." In 
the second and thircPpersons, will simply foretells ; as, " You will soon 
be there ;" — " He will expect you." 

In interrogative sentences, shall, in the first person, may either be 
used potentially to inquire the will of the party addressed, as, " Shall 
I bring you another book?" or it may simply ask whether a certain 

What is the conjugation of a verb ? What are the principal parts of 
a verb ? Why so called ? What is an auxiliary verb ? Enumerate the 
auxiliaries. Which of these are also used as principal verbs 1 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 89 

event will occur, as, " Shall I arrive in time for the cars'?" When 
shall is used interrogatively in the second person, it simply denotes 
futurity; as, "Shall you be in New York next week 1 ?" Shall, 
employed interrogatively in the third person, has a potential signifi- 
cation, and is used to inquire the will of the party addressed ; as, 
" Shall John order the carriage?" Will, used interrogatively in the 
second person, is potential in its signification ; as, " Will you go?" 
Will may be used interrogatively in the third person, to denote mere 
futurity, as, " Will the boat leave to-day?" or it may have a poten- 
tial signification, inquiring the will of the party spoken 'of, as, " Will 
he hazard his life for the safety of his friend?" 

In the subjunctive mode, shall, in all the persons, denotes mere 
futurity ; as, " If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell 
him his fault." Will, on the contrary, is potential in its significa- 
tion, having respect to the will of the agent or subject; as, " If he 
will strive to improve, he shall be duly rewarded." 

The following conjugation of shall and will is inserted to give the 
pupil a more distinct idea of the proper use of these auxiliaries : — 

Shall and Will. 

Affirmative. 

Simple Indicative. 

Singular. Plural. 

1st Person, I shall 1. We shall 

2d Person \ YoU wiU 2 \ YoU wil1 
MM son, | Thouwilt A | Ye will 

2d Person, He will 3. They will 

Potential Indicative. 
Singular. Plural. 

1. I will 1. We will 

9 (You shall ( You shall 

A \ Thou shalt A \ Ye shall 

3. He shall 3. They shall 

Which of the verbs in the following sentences are simple indicatives, and 
which have a potential signification ? — "I will go ;" — "I shall go ;" — 
"He shall obey ;" — "Will you go?" — "Will they go?" — "You 
should improve your time." [Other similar questions respecting these 
auxiliaries, should be added by the teacher.] 



90 



ETYMOLOGY. 



■ VERBS. 



1. 

2. 
3. 



Interrogative. 
Simple, Indicative. 
Singular. Plural. 

Shall I? 1. Shall we? 

Shall you? 9 J Shall you? 



| Shalt thou ? 
Will he ? 



2. 
3. 



Shall 



ye: 



Will they? 



Potential Indicative. 



1. 

,j 

3. 



Singular. 
Shall I ?• 
Will you ? 
Wilt thou ? 
Shall or will he ? 



1. 

2, 



Plural. 
Shall we ? 



►^ J. J. CI, IX VV C I 

, ( Will you ? 
M (Will ye? 
2. Shall or will they ? 



1. 
2. 
3. 



Singular. 
If I shall 
If you shall 
If thou shalt 
If he shall 



Subjunctive. 
Simple Subjunctive. 

Plural. 
1. If we shall 
( If you shall 
( If ye shall 
If they shall 



2. 
3. 



Potential Subjunctive. 



•! 



Singular. 
If I will 
If you will 
If thou wilt 
If he will 



1. 
2. 
3. 



Plural. 
If we will 
If you will 
If ye will 
If they will 



1. 
2. 
3. 



Should and Would. 

Affirmative. 

Simple Indicative. 

Singular. Plural. 

I should 1. We should 

(You would p ( You would 

( Thou wouldst ( Ye would 

He would 3. They would 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 91 





Potential Indicative. 


1. 

2. 
3. 


Singular. Plural. 

I should or would 1. We should or would 
( You should or would ~ S You should or would 
( Thou shouldst or wouldst ' ( Ye should or would 

He should or would 3. They should or would 




Interrogative. 




Simple Indicative. 




Singular. Plural. 
1. Should I? 1. Should we? 
9 ( Should you ? 9 ( Should you ? 
*' \ Shouldst thou? *■ \ Should ye? 
3. Would he? 3. Would they? 




Potential Indicative. 


1. 

2. 
3. 


Singular. Plural. 

Should or would I ? 1. Should or would we ? 
( Should or would you ? 9 ( Should or would you ? 
( Shouldst or wouldst thou ? * ( Should or would ye ? 

Should or would he ? 3. Should or would they ? 



Subjunctive. 

Simple Subjunctive. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I should 1. If we should 

2 [ If you should 9 ( If you should 

( If thou shouldst ' ( If ye should 

3. If he should 3. If they should 

Potential Subjunctive. 

Singular. Plural. „ 

1. If I would 1. If we would 

2 { If you would ^ i If Y ou would 

( If thou wouldst * ( If ye would 

3. If he would 3. If they would 

Will, used as a principal verb, is conjugated regularly. 



92 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

Correct Examples. 

" Yes, my son, I will point out the way, and my soul shall guide 
yours in the ascent, for we will take our flight together." — Gold- 
smith. " The life of a solitary man will certainly be miserable, but 
not certainly devout." — Johnson. " The man who feels himself 
ignorant, should at least be modest." — Ibid, "He that would be 
superior to external influences, must first become superior to his own 
passions. ' ' — Ibid. 

Incorrect Examples. 

' 'What we conceive clearly, and feel strongly, we will naturally 
express with clearness and strength." — Blair. "A limb shall 
swing upon its hinge, or play in its socket, many hundred times in 
an hour, for sixty years together, without diminution of its agility." 
— Paley, " We have much to say on the subject of this life, and 
will often find ourselves obliged to dissent from the opinions of the 
biographer. ' ' — Macaulay. 



CONJUGATION OF THE IRREGULAR VERB TO BE. 

PRINCIPAL PARTS. 

Present, Am. Past, Was. Per/. Participle, Been. 
INDICATIVE MODE. — Common Form. 



PRESENT 


TENSE. 




Singular. 
1st Person, I am 

2d Person, j J° u are f 
( lhou art 

3d Person, He is 


1. 

2. 

3. 


Plural. 

We are 
( You are 
( Ye are 

They are 



Correct the erroneous examples relating to the use of shall and will, and 
show why they are erroneous. What are the principal parts of the verb 
to be ? Conjugate this verb in the indicative mode, common form, and 
present tense. 



VERBS. — CONJUGATION. 93 

In the sacred Scriptures and in the works of our early writers, be 
is sometimes used for are ; as, " We be true men." 

I 

PAST TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I was 1. We were 

( You were 2 S You were 

( Thou wast ' ( Ye were 

3. He was 3. They were 

FUTURE TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall be 1. We shall be 

{ You will be 9 ( You w r ill be 

^ \ Thou wilt be ' \ Ye will be 

3. He will be 3. They will be 

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have been 1. We have been 

o ( You have been p { You have been 

( Thou hast been ' ( Ye have been 

3. He has been 3. They have been 

PAST PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had been 1. We had been 



o \ You had been ^ ( 

( Thou hadst been ' ( 

3. He had been 3. They had been 



You had been rt { You had been 

Ye had been 



! 



FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

I shall have been 1. We shall have been 

You will have been ^ ^ You will have been 



Thou wilt have been ' ( Ye will have been 

He will have been 3. They will have been 

Conjugate the verb to be in the indicative mode, common form, past 
tense ; — future tense ; — present perfect tense ; — past perfect tense ; — 
future perfect tense. 



94 ETYMOLOGY. — VERBS* 

INDICATIVE MODE. — Potential Form. 

PRESENT Or FUTURE TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I may, can, or must be 1. We may, can, or must be 

2 { You may, can, or must be ^ ^ You may, can, or must be 

' ( Thou mayest, canst, or must " ( Ye may, can, or must be 

3. He may, can, or must be [be 3. They may, can, or must be 

PRESENT, PAST, Or FUTURE TENSE. 

Singular. 
1. I might, could, would, or should be 
„ ( You might, could, would, or should be 

( Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or shouldst be 
3. He might, could, would, or should be 



Plural. 
1. We might, could, would, or should be 
2 ( You might, could, would, or should be 

( Ye might, could, would, or should be 
3. They might, could, would, or should be 

PRESENT PERFECT Or FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. 
1. I may, can, or must have been 
o { You may, can, or must have been 

( Thou mayest, canst, or must have been 
3. He may, can, or must have been 

Plural. 
1. We may, can, or must have been 
o { You may, can, or must have been 

( Ye may, can, or must have been 
3. They may, can, or must have been. 

PRESENT PERFECT Or PAST PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. 
1. I might, could, would, or should have been 
^ (You might v could, would, or should have been 

* ( Thou mightest, couldst, wouldst, or shouldst have been 
3. He might, could, would, or should have been 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 95 

Plural 
1. We might, could, would, or should have been 
2 ( You might, could, would, or should have been 

( Ye might, could, would, or should have been 
3. They might, could, would, or should have been 

The potential use of the auxiliaries shall and will, constitutes 
another form of the potential indicative. See pp. 89, 90. 

[In determining the tense of a verb used potentially, the pupil should 
generally be governed by the sense of the passage which contains it, 
without any regard to the form of the verb.] 

SUBJUNCTIVE MODE. 
present tense. — Common Style. 





Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 


If I am 


1. If we are 


2. 


( If you are 
( If thou art 


o ( If you are 
( If ye are 


3. 


If he is 


3. If they are 




PRESENT TENSE. 


— Ancient Style. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 


If I be 


1. If we be 


2. 


( If you be 
( If thou be 


^ { If you be 
( If ye he 


3. 


If he be 


3. If they be 




PAST 


TENSE. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 


If I was 


1. If we were 


2. 


( If you were 
( If thou wast 


2 ( If you were 
( If ye were 


3. 


If he was 


3. If they were 




FUTURE 


TENSE. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 


If I shall be 


1. If we shall be 


2. 


( If you shall be 
( If thou shalt be 


2 { If you shall be 
( If ye shall be 


3. 


If he shall be 


3. If they shall be 



Conjugate the verb to be, in the subjunctive mode, present tense, 
and common style ; — present tense, ancient style ; — past tense ; — 
future tense. 9 



96 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 



PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. 





Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


If I have been 


1. 


If we have been 


2. 


( If you have been 
( If thou hast been 


2. 


( If you have been 
( If ye have been 


3. 


If he has been 


3. 


If they have been 




PAST PERFECT TENSE. 




Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


If I had been 


1. 


If we had been 


2. 


( If you had been 
( If thou hadst been 


2. 


( If you had been 
( If ye had been 


3. 


If he had been 


3. 


If they had been 



FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 



Singular. Plural. 

1. If I shall have been 1. If we shall have been 

If you shall have been ( If you shall have been 

'"thou shalt have been ' ( If ye shall have been 

If he shall have been 3. If they shall have been 



MSi 



HYPOTHETICAL FORM.* 

Singular. Plural. 

1. If I were 1. If we were 

p ( If you were ^ { If you were 

( If thou wert ' ( If ye were 

3. If he were 3. If they were 

This form of the verb be is commonly used, in the subjunctive 
mode, to express a supposition or hypothesis. When employed in a 
negative sentence, it implies an affirmation ; as, " If it were not so, I 
would have told you." Whenused in an affirmative sentence, it im- 
plies a negation; as, "If it were possible, they would deceive the 
very elect." The time denoted by this use of the verb is sometimes 
present, and sometimes indefinite. 

Conjugate the verb to be, in the subjunctive mode, present perfect 
tense; — past perfect tense ; — future perfect tense. What is the use 
of the hypothetical form of the verb ? What peculiarity respecting the 
affirmative and negative use of the hypothetical form of the verb 1 Exam- 
ples. What time is denoted by it ? 

* See Hiley, Webster, Frazee, Butler, Waldo, D'Orsey, Connon, and Crane. 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 97 

The past subjunctive of other verbs is often employed in a similar 
manner ; as, "I would walk out, if it did not rain ;" — " If I had 
the power, I would assist you cheerfully." 

The potential form of the subjunctive mode, is the same in most of 
the tenses as the potential form of the. indicative. The only differ- 
ence between them, is in the use of tfie auxiliaries shall and will. 
See the conjugation of shall and will; pp. 89, 90. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 
Present, To be Present perfect, To have been 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular, Be, or j g J^ Plural, Be, or { g ?™ 

Though imperatives are mostly confined to the second person, they 
are sometimes employed in the first and third persons. # 

Examples: — " Do we all holy rites." — Shah. "Come, go we 
then together." — Ibid. " Proceed we to mark more particu- 
larly." — Bp. Wilson. "Be not the muse ashamed." — Thom- 
son! "This be thy just circumference,, world." — Milton. 
"Thy kingdom come." — Matt. 6 : 10. 
"My soul, .turn from them ; turn we to survey 
"Where rougher climes a nobler race display." — Goldsmith. 

PARTICIPLES. 

( Been 
Imperfect, Being Perfect, j Haying been 

Synopsis of the verb To Be. 

INDICATIVE. COMMON FORM. 

Present, I am Present perfect, I have been 

Past, I was Past perfect, I had been 

Future, I shall be Future perfect, I shall have been 

With what does the potential form of the subjunctive correspond ? What 
is the infinitive present of the verb to be ? — present perfect ? Give the 
imperative ; — the participles. Repeat the synopsis of the verb to be, in 
the common form of the indicative. 

* " la imitation ot other languages which have two or three persons in the 
imperative mode, we occasionally meet with verbs used in a similar manner 
in the first, but more frequently in the third person." — Sanborn. See also 
Kirkham, Frazee, Perley, R. W. Green, Gurney, Crane, Grant, S. Oliver, 
and Coote. 



98 



ETYMOLOGY. - 



-VERES. 



POTENTIAL INDICATIVE. 

Present or Future, I may, can, or must be 

Pres., Past, or Put., I might, could, would, or should be 

Future, I will be 

Pres. perf, or Put. perf., I may, can, or must have been 
Pres. perf, ox Past perf., I might, could, would, or should 

have been 



SUBJUNCTIVE. 



Present tense, common style, 
Present tense, ancient style, 
Past tense, 
Future tense, 
Present perfect, 
Past perfect, 
Future perfect, 
Hypothetical form, 



If I am 

If I be 

If I was 

If I shall be 

If I have been 

If I had been 

If I shall have been 

If I were 



INFINITIVE. 

Present, To be Present perfect, To have been 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, Be, or Be you or thou 

PARTICIPLES. 

Imperfect, Being Perfect, Been 



CONJUGATION OF THE REGULAR VERB TO LOVE, 
IN THE ACTIVE VOICE. 

PRINCIPAL PARTS. 

Present, Love. Past, Loved. Perf. Part., Loved. 

Repeat the synopsis of the verb to be, in the potential indicative ; — in 
the subjunctive ; — in the infinitive. Give the imperative ; — the par- 
ticiples. What are the principal parts of the verb to love ? 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 99 



INDICATIVE MODE. 



PRESENT TENSE. 



Singular. Plural. 

1. I love 1. We love 

2 ( You love o ( You love 
^' ( Thou lovest ' ( Ye love 

3. He loves 3. They love 



PAST TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I loved 1. We loved 

9 ( You loved 9 ( You loved 

* (Thoulovedst *' \ Ye loved 

3. He loved 3. They loved 

FUTURE TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall love L We shall love 

2 ( You will love ~ S ^ ou wn ^ l° ve 

( Thou wilt love ( Ye will love 

3. He will love 3. They will love 

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I have loved 1. We have loved 

2 ( You have loved ~ ( You have loved 

( Thou hast loved ' ( Ye have loved 

3. He has loved 3. They have loved 

PAST PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had loved 1. We had loved 



M 



You had loved ^ ( You had loved 



Thou hadst loved ' ( Ye had loved 
3. He had loved 3. They had loved 

Conjugate this verb in the indicative mode, present tense j — past 
tense : — future tense ; — present perfect ; — past perfect ; — future 
perfect. g^ 



100 ETYMOLOGY. — VERBS. 



FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have loved 1. We shall have loved 

2 ( You will have loved ~ ( You will have loved 

( Thou wilt have loved ' ( Ye will have loved 

3. He will have loved 3. They will have loved 

In the potential indicative of this and other verbs, the auxiliaries 
are the same as those already exhibited in the potential indicative of 
the verb to be. The subjunctive of all verbs except to be, has the 
same form as the indicative. 

INFINITIVE MODE. 
Present, To love Present perfect, To have loved 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular, Love, or j £™ J^ Plural, Love, or j £™ ^ u 

PARTICIPLES. 
Imperfect, Loving Perfect, Having loved 

Synopsis of T o Love. 

INDICATIVE. 

Present, I love Present perfect, I have loved 

Past, I loved Past perfect, I had loved 

Future, I shall love Future perfect, I shall have loved 

INFINITIVE. 

Present, To love Present perfect, To have loved 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, Love, or love thou or you 

PARTICIPLES. 

Imperfect, Loving Perfect, Having loved 

What is said respecting the form of the 'potential indicative! — of the 
subjunctive ? Give the infinitive present ; — present perfect j — the 
imperative ; — the participles. Give the synopsis of the verb to love. 





VERBS. CONJUGATION. 101 


CONJUGATION OF TO LOVE, IN THE PASSIVE 




VOICE. 




INDICATIVE MODE. 




PRESENT 


TENSE. 


1. 
2. 
3. 


Singular. 

I am loved 
(You are loved 
( Thou art loved 

He is loved 


Plural. 
1. We are loved 
2 ( You are loved 

( Ye are loved 
3. They are loved 




PAST TENSE. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 
2. 
3. 


I was loved 
( You were loved 
( Thou wast loved 

He was loved 


1. We were loved 
o ( You were loved 

( Ye were loved 
3. They were loved 




FUTURE 


TENSE. 


1. 

2. 
3. 


Singular. 

I shall be loved 
( You will be loved 
( Thou wilt be loved 

He will be loved 


Plural. 
1. We shall be loved 
o ( You will be loved 

( Ye will be loved 
3. They will be loved 




PRESENT PERFECT TENSE. 




Singular. 


Plural. 


1. 
3. 


I have been loved 
You have been loved 
Thou hast been loved 
He has been loved 


1. We have been loved 
2 (You have been loved 

( Ye have been loved 
3. They have been loved 




PAST PERFECT TENSE. 


1. 

M 

3. 


Singular. 
I had been loved 
You had been loved 
Thou hadst been loved 
He had been loved 


Plural. 
1. We had been loved 
p ( You had been loved 

( Ye had been loved 
3. They had been loved 



Conjugate the passive voice of the verb to love, in the indicative 
mode, present tense ; — past tense ; — future tense ; — present perfect ; 
— past perfect ; — future perfect. Give the infinitive present j — pres- 
ent perfect ; — the imperative ; — the participles. 



102 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have been loved 1. We shall have been loved . 

o { You will have been loved ^ ( You will have been loved 

( Thou wilt have been loved ' ( Ye will have been loved 

3. He will have been loved 3. They will have been loved 

INFINITIVE MODE. 

Present, To be loved Present perfect, To have been loved 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular, Be lo^, or [11^^ 
Plural, Belo^orj*^™ 1 

PARTICIPLES. 
Imperfect, Being loved Perfect, j *£™Jg been loved 

Synopsis of T o be Loved. 

INDICATIVE. 

Pres., I am loved Pres. perfect, I have been loved 

Past, I was loved Past perfect, I had been loved 
Fut., I shall be loved Put. perfect, I shall have been loved 

INFINITIVE- 

Present, To be loved Present perfect, To have been loved 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, Be loved, or Be you or thou loved 

PARTICIPLES. 

Imperfect, Being loved Perfect, Loved, Having been loved 
Give the synopsis of to be, loved. 



VERBS. — CONJUGATION. 



103 



CONJUGATION OF THE IRREGULAR VERB TO SEE. 

PRINCIPAL PARTS. 

Present, See. Past, Saw. Perfect Participle, Seen. 
INDICATIVE MODE. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 






1. 


I see 


1. 


We see 


2. 


( You see 
( Thou seest 


2. 


( You see 
( Ye see 


3. 


He sees 


3. 


They see 




PAS! 


TENSE. 






Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


I saw 


1. 


We saw 


2. 


{ You saw 
( Thou sawest 


2. 


( You saw 
( Ye saw 


3. 


He saw 


3. 


They saw 




FUTURE TENSE. 






Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


I shall see 


1. 


We shall see 


2. 


( You will see 
( Thou wilt see 


2. 


( You will see 


( Ye will see 


3. 


He will see 


3. 


They will see 




PRESENT 


PERFECT TENSE. 




Singular. 




Plural. 


1. 


I have seen 


1. 


We have seen 


2. 


( You have seen 
( Thou hast seen 


2. 


{ You have seen 


( Ye have seen 


3. 


He has seen 


3. 


They have seen 



Conjugate the verb to see, in the indicative mode, present tense ; — 
past tense ; — future tense ; — present perfect ; — past perfect ; — 
future perfect. In the infinitive present; — present perfect. In the 
imperative. Give the participles. 






104 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS, 

PAST PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I had seen 1. We had seen 

2 ( You had seen ~ ( You had seen 

( Thou hadst seen ' ( Ye had seen 

3. He had seen 3. They had seen 

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE. 

Singular. Plural. 

1. I shall have seen 1. We shall have seen 

2 ( You will have seen ~ S You will have seen 

* ( Thou wilt have seen " ( Ye will have seen 

3. He will have seen 3. They will have seen 

INFINITIVE MODE. 
Present, To see Present perfect, To have seen 

IMPERATIVE MODE. 

PRESENT TENSE. 

Singular, See, or j |*° J^ Plu ™h See, or { g°° ^ U 

PARTICIPLES. 
Imperfect, Seeing Perfect, Having seen 

Synopsis o/To See. 

INDICATIVE. 

Present, I see Present perfect, I have seen 

Past, I saw Past perfect, I had seen 

Future, I shall see Future perfect, I shall have seen 

INFINITIVE. 

Present, To see Present perfect, To have seen 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, See, or See thou or you 

PARTICIPLES. 

Imperfect, Seeing Perfect, Having seen 

Give the synopsis of to see. 



VERBS. CONJUGATION. 105 

PROGRESSIVE FORM OF THE VERB. 
The progressive form of a verb is employed to 
denote the continuance of an action or state. It is 
composed of an imperfect participle and one of the 
forms of the verb to be ; as, "I am ivriting a letter ;" 
— " He is studying French." 

Synopsis of To Write, in the Progressive Form, 

INDICATIVE. 

Pres. , I am writing Pres. perf. , I have been writing 

Past, I was writing Past perf., I had been writing 
Fut., I shall be writing Fut. perf, I shall have been writing 

INFINITIVE. 

Present, To be writing Present perfect, To have been writing 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, Be writing, or Be thou or you writing 

PARTICIPLES. 

Imperfect, Writing Perfect, Having been writing 

The Auxiliary D o . 

In sentences which express emphasis, interrogation, or negation, 
the present and past tenses of the indicative and subjunctive modes, 
and the present imperative, are often formed by the aid of the auxil- 
iary verb do ; as, " I do know it to be true ;" — "Do you intend to 
return to-morrow'? " — " I do not understand you." 

Synopsis of To Hear, with the Auxiliary Do. 

INDICATIVE. 

Present, I do hear Past, I did hear 

What is the progressive form of a verb ? Of what is it composed ? 
Give the synopsis of to write, in the progressive form. In what sen- 
tences is the auxiliary do employed ? Examples. What tenses are often 
formed by the aid of the auxiliary do ? Give the synopsis of to hear, 
with the auxiliary do. 



106 ETYMOLOGY. VERBS. 

SUBJUNCTIVE. 

Present, If I do hear Past, If I did hear 

IMPERATIVE. 

Present, Do hear, or Do thou or you hear 
Bo, as a principal verb, is conjugated like other irregular verbs. 

INTERROGATIVE FORM. 

In interrogative sentences, when the verb has no auxiliary, the 
nominative is placed after the verb ; when one auxiliary is used, the 
nominative is placed between the auxiliary and the principal verb ; 
and when more auxiliaries than one are employed, the nominative is 
placed after the first. 

Synopsis o/To Hear, used Interrogatively. 

INDICATIVE. 

Pres., Hear I ? or Do I hear ? Pres. perf., Have I heard ? 
Past, Heard I ? or Did I hear ? Past perf., Had I heard ? 
Put. , Shall I hear ? Fut.perf., Shall I have heard ? 

NEGATIVE FORM. 

A verb is conjugated negatively by introducing the adverb not in 
connection with it ; as, J know not ; I do not know ; I shall not 
have known ; I should not have been known. 

EXERCISES. 

"I was." — "He had been." — " They think." — "We 
will return." — " Strive to improve." — " It is found." — " If 
we shall hear." — "Thou canst see." — "If he had been." 
— " If he would learn." — " Shall I read ? " — " Can it be un- 
derstood ? " — " Honor thy father and thy mother." 

Give the mode, tense, number, and person of each of the verbs in 

What is the place of the nominative, in interrogative sentences ? Give 
the synopsis of the verb to hear, used interrogatively. How is a verb con. 
jugated negatively ? Examples. 



IRREGULAR VERBS. 107 

the foregoing sentences. Which of them are in the potential form of the 
indicative mode ? Which in the potential form of the subjunctive ? 

Mention a verb in the third person plural of the past perfect subjunc- 
tive. One in the present imperative. One in the present perfect infini- 
tive. One in the first person singular of the future perfect indicative. 
One in the third person singular of the present or future indicative, and 
potential form. Mention three perfect participles. Three imperfect 
participles. Mention a verb in the third person singular of the present 
perfect indicative, and passive voice. [A variety of similar directions 

c should be added by the teacher.} 

I "Write sentences containing examples of verbs in the common form 
of the indicative and subjunctive modes ; — in the potential indicative 

j and potential subjunctive ; — in the imperative and infinitive modes ; — 
containing examples of both imperfect and perfect participles ; — of 
verbs in the passive voice ; — containing examples of shall and will, cor- 
rectly employed. 

IRREGULAR VERBS. 
An irregular verb is one that does not form its past 
tense and perfect participle -by adding d or ed to the 
present ; as, see, saw, seen : go, tvent, gone. 

The following list comprises nearly all the simple irregular verbs 
in our language. 

When more forms than one are used in the past tense or perfect 
participle, that which stands first is to be preferred. 

Compound verbs (except welcome and behave, which are regular) 
are conjugated like the simple verbs from which they are formed ; 
as, see, saw, seen; foresee, foresaw, foreseen. 

LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS. 
Present. Past. Perf. Part. 

Abide abode abode 

Am or be was been 

Awake awoke, awaked awaked 

What is an irregular verb? Examples. How are the compound 
verbs conjugated ? Give the past tenses and perfect participle of the verb 
abide ; — of the verb am ; — of the verb awake. [The teacher should pro- 
ceed in this manner through the list, and repeat the exercise till the 
pupils are able to name with readiness the past tense and perfect par- 
ticiple of all the irregular verbs.] 
10 



108 



ETYMOLOGY. ■ 



•IRREGULAR VERBS. 



Present. 

Bear (to bring forth) 
Bear (to sustain) for- 
Beat 
Begin 
Bend, un- 
Bereave 
Beseech 
Bid, for- 
Bind, un-j re- 
Bite 
Bleed 
Blow 
Break 
Breed 
Bring 

Build, re- ) up- 
Bum 
Burst 
Buy 
Cast 
Catch 
Chide 
Choose 

Cleave (to adhere) 
Cleave (to split) 
Cling 
Clothe 

Come, be-j over- 
Cost 
Creep 
Crow 
Cut 

DareJ (to venture) 
Deal 
Dig 

Do, un-, mis-) over- 
Draw, with- 
Dream 
Drink 



Past. 

bore, bare* 

bore, bare* 

beat 

began 

bent, bended 

bereft, bereaved 

besought 

bid, bade 

bound 

bit 

bled 

blew 

broke, brake* 

bred 

brought 

built, builded 

burned, burnt 

burst 

bought 

cast 

caught, catchedf 

chid 

chose 

cleaved, clave* 

clove, cleft, clave # 

clung 

clothed, clad 

came 

cost 

crept 

crowed, crew 

cut 

dared, durst 

dealt, dealed 

dug, digged 

did 

drew 

dreamed, dreamt 

drank 



Perf. Part. 

born 

borne 

beaten, beat 

begun 

bent 

bereft, bereaved 

besought 

bidden, bid 

bound 

bitten, bit 

bled 

blown 

broken 

bred 

brought 

built, builded 

burned, burnt 

burst 

bought 

cast 

caught, catched-) 

chidden, chid 

chosen 

cleaved 

cloven, cleft 

clung 

clothed, clad 

come 

cost 

crept 

crowed 

cut 

dared 

dealt, dealed 

dug, digged 

done 

drawn 

dreamed, dreamt 

drank, § drunk 



* Obsolete. t Obsolescent. t Dare, to challenge, is regular. 

§ " From the disagreeable idea excited by the participle drunk, drank has 
been long in polite usage adopted instead of it." — Walker, the Lexico- 
grapher. 

" If we mistake not, drank is oftener used by good writers than drunk or 
di~unken." — Foiole. 

Drank is also given as a perfect participle of drink by Sanborn, Webster, 
Goldsbury, Jenkins, Kirkham, Powers, Fletcher, R. W. Green, Frazee, 
Parkhurst, and others. 

Examples : — " Bats and hideous birds had drank up the oil which nour- 
ished the perpetual lamp in the temple of Odin." — Johnson. "The cold 
water that was drank." — Pres. Hopkins. "The man hath drank." — 



IRREGULAR VERBS. 



109 



Present. 
Drive 
Dwell 
Eat 

Fall, be- 
Feed 
Feel 
Fight 
Find 
Flee 
Fling 
Fly 

Forsake 
Freeze 
Freight 
Get, be-, for- 
Gild 

Gird, be-, un-, en- 
Give, for-, mis- 
Go, fore-, under- 
Grave, en- 
Grind 
Grow 
Hang| 
Have 

Hear, over- 
Heave 
Hew 
Hide 
Hit 

Hold, be-, with-, up- 
Hurt 
Keep 
Kneel 
Knit 

Know, fore- 
Lade§ (to load) 
Lay, (to place,) in- 
Lead, mis- 
Leave 
Lend 
Let 
Lie 1 1 (to recline) 



Past. 


Perf. Part. 


drove, drave* 


driven 


dwelt, dwelled 


dwelt, dwelled 


ate, eat 


eaten 


fell 


fallen 


fed 


fed 


felt 


felt 


fought 


fought 


found 


found 


fled 


fled 


flung 


flung 


flew 


flown 


forsook 


forsaken 


froze 


frozen 


freighted 


fraught, freighted 


got, gat* 


got, gotten 


gilded, gilt 


gilded, gilt 


girt, girded 


girt, girded 


gave 


given 


went 


gone 


graved 


graven, graved 


ground 


ground 


grew 


grown 


hung 


hung 


had 


had 


heard 


heard 


heaved, hove 


heaved, hoven* 


hewed 


hewn, hewed 


hid 


hidden, hid 


hit 


hit 


held 


held, holdenf 


hurt 


hurt 


kept 


kept 


kneeled, knelt 


kneeled, knelt 


knit, knitted 


knit, knitted 


knew 


known 


laded 


laden 


laid 


laid 


led 


led 


left 


left 


lent 


lent 


let 


let 


lay 


lain 



South ey. " Such a discourse could have emanated only from a mind which 
had drank deeply from the fountains of experience, observation, and reflec- 
tion." — Horace Mann. 

" It is a sultry day ; the sun has drank 
The dew that lay upon the morning grass." — Bryant. 
* Obsolete. t Obsolescent. 

t Hang; to take away life by hanging, is regular ; as, " Judas departed, 
and went and hanged himself." 

§ Lade, to dip, is regular. j| Lie, to deceive, is regular. 



110 ETYMOLOGY. — IRREGUI 


,AE VERBS, 


Present 


Past. 


Perf. Part. 


Light 


lighted, lit 


lighted, lit 


Load, «»-, over- 


loaded 


loaded, loaden* 


Lose 


lost 


lost 


Make 


made 


made 


Mean 


meant 


meant 


Meet 


met 


met 


Mow 


mowed 


mown, mowed 


Pay, re- 


paid 


paid 


Pent (to enlcose) 


penned, pent 


pent, penned 


Put 


put 


put 


Quit 


quit, quitted 


quitted, quit 


Read 


read 


read 


Rend 


rent 


rent 


Rid 


rid 


rid 


Ride 


rode, rid # 


rode, ridden, rid # 


Ring 


rang, rung 


rung 


Rise, a- 


rose 


risen 


Rive 


rived 


riven 


Run, out- 


ran 


run 


Saw- 


sawed 


sawn, sawed 


Say, tm- } gain- 


said 


said 


See, fore- 


saw 


seen 


Seek 


sought 


sought 


Seethe 


seethed, sod 


seethed, sodden 


Sell 


sold 


sold 


Send 


send 


sent 


Set, be- 


set 


set 


Sit (to rest) 
Shake 


sat 


sat 


shoo"k 


shaken 


Shape, mis* 


shaped 


shaped, shapen 


Shave 


shaved 


shaved, shaven 


Shear 


sheared 


shorn, sheared 


Shed 


shed 


shed 


Shine 


shone, shined 


shone, shined 


Shoe 


shod 


shod 


Shoot, over- 


shot 


shot 


Show or shew 


showed or shewed 


shown or shewn 


Shred 


shred 


shred 


Shrink 


shrunk, shrank 


shrunk 


Shut 


shut 


shut 


Sing 


sang, sung 


sung 


Sink 


sunk, sank 


sunk 


Slay 


slew 


slain 


Sleep 


slept 


slept 


Slide 


slid 


slidden, slid 


Sling 


slung, slang* 


slung 


Slink 


slunk 


slunk 


Slit 


slit, slitted 


slit, slitted 


Smite 


smote 


smitten, smit 


* Obsolete. 


IPen, 


to write, is regular. 



IRREGULAR VERBS. 



Ill 



Present. 


Past. 


Perf. part. 


Sowf (to scatter) 


sowed 


sown, sowed 


Speak, be- 


spoke, spake* 


spoken, spoke 


Speed 


sped 


sped 


Spell, mis- 


spelled, spelt 


spelled, spelt 


Spend, mis- 


spent 


spent 


Spill 


spilt, spilled 


spilt, spilled 


Spin 


spun, span* 


spun 


Spitf 


spit, spat* 


spit, spitten* 


Split 


split 


split 


Spread, over-, be- 


spread 


spread 


Spring 


sprang, sprung 


sprung 


Stand, with-, under- 


stood 


stood 


Steal 


stole 


stolen 


Stick 


stuck 


stuck 


Sting 


stung 


stung 


Stride, be- 


strode, strid 


stridden, strid 


Strike 


struck 


struck, stricken* 


String 


strung 


strung 


Strive 


strove 


striven I 


Strow or strew, Re- 


_ -, t -, ( strown, strowed 
strowed, or strewed j strewn > gtrewed 


swear, for- 


swore, sware* 


sworn 


Sweat 


sweat, sweated 


sweat, sweated 


Sweep 


sw r ept 


swept 


Swell 


swelled 


swollen, swelled 


Swim 


swam, swum 


swum 


Swing [be-, re-, over- 


■ swung 


swung 


Take, mis-, under-, 


took 


taken 


Teach, un-, mis- 


taught 


taught 


Tear 


tore, tare # 


torn 


Tell, fore- 


told 


told 


Think, be- 


thought 


thought 


Thrive 


throve, thrived 


thriven, thrived 


Throw, over- 


threw 


thrown 


Thrust 


thrust 


thrust 


Tread, re- 


trod 


trodden, trod 


Wax 


waxed 


waxed, waxen 


"Wear 


wore 


worn 


"Weave, un- 


wove 


woven, wove 


Weep 


wept 


wept 


Wet 


wet, wetted 


wet, wetted 


Whet 


whetted, whet 


whetted, whet 


Win 


won 


won 


Wind, un- 


wound 


wound 


Work 


worked, wrought 


worked, wrought 


"Wring 


wrung, wringed 


wrung, wringed 


Write 


wrote, writ* 


written, writ. 


When the past tense is a monosyllable 


not ending in a single vowel, 


the second person sing 


^ular of the solemn 


style is generally formed by 



* Obsolete. t Sew, to stitch, is regular. 

t Spit, to put on a spit, is regular. 

10* 



112 ETYMOLOGY. — ADVERBS. 

the addition of est ; as, heardest, fleddest, tookest. Hadst, wast, saidst, and 
didst, are exceptions. 

DEFECTIVE VERBS. 

A defective verb is one that cannot be used in all the 
modes and tenses. Thus, we cannot say, " I had 
could, 77 *'I shall can" etc. 

The defective verbs are can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, 
would, must, ought, quoth, and beware, 

UNIPERSONAL VERBS. 
A unipersonal* verb is one that is used only in the 
third person singular ; as, It hails ; It snows ; It 

behoves. 

Methinks is an anomalous word, compounded of me and thinks. It 
is generally ranked with unipersonal verbs. 

EXERCISES. 
Write sentences containing examples of irregular verbs ; — of 
defective verbs ; — of unipersonal verbs. 



THE ADVERB. 
An Adverb^ is a word used to modify the sense of a 
verb, an adjective, or another adverb; as, " He is not 

What is a defective verb ? Enumerate the defective verbs. What is 
a unipersonal verb ? Examples. What is an adverb ? 

* The term impersonal is commonly applied to this class of verbs ; but a 
word which is always employed in one of the three grammatical persons, 
cannot, with any degree of propriety, be said to be without person. 

" As to the verbs, which some grammarians have called impersonal, there 
are, in fact, no such things in the English language." — Cobbett. 

"This form is commonly called impersonal; but this denomination is 
incorrect and inadmissible, since these verbs are really in the third person." 
— De Sacy. 

Hiley denominates these verbs monopersonal ; and De Sacy, SutclifTe, and 
Morgan, call them verbs of the third' person. The term unipersonal is 
adopted in the English Grammars of Crane and Fowle, in Bacni's Italian 
Grammar, and in the French Grammars of Bolrnar and Bugard. 

t The term adverb is derived from the two Latin words, ad and verbum, 
which signify to a verb. 



ADVERBS. 113 

understood; " — " He speaks very fluently ;" — " A re- 
markably diligent boy." 

Adverbs generally express in one word, what would otherwise 
require two or more. Thus, now is used for at this time ; there, for in 
that place. 

Many adverbs are formed by the union of two or more words. 
Thus, indeed is composed of in and deed ; sometimes, of some and times ; 
herein, of here and in. 

Adverbs may be divided into several classes, of which the following 
are the most important : 

1. Adverbs of Manner ; as, justly, rapidly. 

2. Of Place ; as, here, there. 

3. Of Time; as, now, soon, lately. 

4. Of Degree; as, more, less, hardly. 

5. Of Affirmation ; as, yes, certainly, doubtless. 

6. Of Negation ; as, not, no. 

Other classes might be enumerated, but they are less distinctly mark- 
ed j and the different uses of adverbs are so numerous that a perfect 
classification is impracticable. 

The words to-day, to-night, to-morrow, and yesterday, though some- 
times classed with adverbs, are properly nouns. 

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS. 

A conjunctive adverb is one that performs the office of a modifier 
and also of a connective; as, "When Crusoe saw the savages, he 
became greatly alarmed." 

COMPARISON OF ADVERBS. 

Many adverbs, like adjectives, admit of comparison. Most of those, 
ending in ly are compared by more and most; as, wisely, more wisely, 
most wisely. 

A few are compared by adding er and est; as, soon, sooner, 
soonest. 

The following are compared irregularly : — 

-p J farther, farthest Little, less, least 

' { further, furthest Much, more, most 

Well, better, best 111 or badly, worse, worst 

Examples. Name the principal classes of adverbs, and give examples of 
each. What is a conjunctive adverb? Examples. How are adverbs end- 
ing in ly generally compared? Examples. Give examples of adverbs com* 
pared by er and est ; — of adverbs compared irregularly. 



114 



ETYMOLOGY. PREPOSITIONS. 



EXERCISES. 
" The tree grows very, rapidly." — " Iron is much harder 
than copper." — " Fortune sometimes favors those whom she 
afterwards destroys." — " Diligence is seldom unrewarded." 
— " Truth never fears examination, however rigid it may 
be." — " Whatever is done willingly is done well." 

Point out the adverbs in the foregoing sentences. Give the class of 
each. 

Name three adverbs ending in ly; — three that do not end in ly. 

Write sentences containing examples of adverbs which modify verbs, 
adjectives, and other adverbs. 

Write sentences containing adverbs of manner, place, time, degree, affirma- 
tion, and negation. 



THE PREPOSITION. 

A Preposition* is a word used to express the relation 
of a noun or pronoun depending upon it, to some other 
word in the sentence; as, " He went from Boston to 
Albany ; ?? — " Washington was the father of his coun- 
try. 7 ' 

In the foregoing examples, from expresses the relation between went 
and Boston; to, the relation between went and Albany; and of, the rela- 
tion between/fltf/ier and country. 

The following list of prepositions embraces most of those in com- 
mon use : — 



About 


at 


by 


-on 


under 


above 


athwart 


concerning 


over 


underneath 


across 


before 


down 


respecting 


until 


after 


behind 


during 


round 


unto 


against 


below 


except 


since 


up 


along 


beneath 


excepting 


through 


upon 


amid or 


beside or 


for 


throughout 


with 


amidst 


besides 


from 


till 


within 


among or 


between 


in 


to 


without 


amongst 


betwixt 


into 


towards 


worth f 


around 


beyond 


of 








What is a preposition? 


Examples. 





* The term preposition is derived from the Latin word propositus, which 
signifies placed before. 

t " Worth has the construction of a preposition, as it admits of the objec- 
tive case after it, without an intervening preposition." — Worcester's Diet. 



CONJUNCTIONS. 115 



THE CONJUNCTION. 

A Conjunction* rs a word that is used to connect 
words or sentences; as, u Seven and five are twelve;" 
— " Straws swim on the surface; but pearls lie at the 
bottom." 

The words belonging to this part of speech do not admit of a satis- 
factory division into classes. f 

The following is a list of the words most frequently employed as con- 
junctions : — 

And but neither than though 

although either nor that unless 

as for notwithstanding then wherefore 

because if or therefore yet 

both lest since 

What is a conjunction? Examples. 

" The word worth is often followed by an objective, or a participle which 
it appears to govern ; as, ■ If your arguments produce no conviction, they 
are worth, nothing to me.' — 'This is life indeed, life worth preserving.' 
It is not easy to determine to what part of speech worth here belongs. Dr. 
Johnson calls it an adjective, but says nothing of the objective after it, which 
some suppose to be governed by of understood. In this supposition, it is 
gratuitously assumed, that worth is equivalent to worthy, after which of 
should be expressed ; as, 'Whatsoever is worthy of their love, is worth their 
anger.' But, as worth appears to have no certain characteristic of an adjec- 
tive, some call it a noun, and suppose a double ellipsis ; as, ' The book is [of 
the] worth [of] a dollar.' This is still less satisfactory ; and, as the whole 
appears to be mere guess-work, we see no good reason why worth is not a 
preposition, governing the noun or participle." — G. Brown. 

* The term conjunction is derived from the Latin word conjungo, which sig- 
nifies to join together. 

t " The old distinction of conjunctions into copulative and disjunctive, was 
founded in error, and is, happily, going into disuse in our grammars." — 
Frazee. 

"Conjunctions are generally divided into copulative and disjunctive ; but 
more confusion than practical advantage seems to be derived from the divis- 
ion." — Goodenow. 

" I shall not take up time, and confuse the understanding of the learner by 
dividing the words considered as conjunctions, into copulative, disjunctive, 
concessive, etc." — Lewis. 

" The common division of the words termed conjunctions, into copulative, 
as and; disjunctive, as either, or, neither, nor, etc. ; concessive, as though, 
although, yet; adversative, as but, however; causal, as for, because, since ; 
illative, as therefore, wherefore, then ; conditional, as if; exceptive, as 
unless ; deserves little consideration." — Grant. 



116 ETYMOLOGY. — INTERJECTIONS. 

THE INTERJECTION. 

Ai\~Interjection* is an exclamatory word, used merely 

to express some passion or emotion. 

The following list of interjections includes most of those which are 
in general use : — 

Ah ! alas ! fie ! ha ! halloo ! indeed ! lo ! ! Oh ! pshaw ! ho ! wel- 
come ! 

Other parts of speech are frequently used to perform the office of 
interjections • as, hark I surprising ! mercy ! 

EXERCISES. 
" Of what use are riches without happiness ?" — " Whatso- 
ever ye. would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them." — " The sun, moon, and stars, admonish us of a supe- 
rior and superintending power." — "Righteousness exalteth 
a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people." — " Whence 
are thy beams, O Sun ! " 

Point out the prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections in the fore- 
going sentences. 

Write sentences containing examples of prepositions, conjunctions, 
and interjections. 



DERIVATION. 

Derivation is that part of Etymology which treats of 
the origin and primary signification of words. 

The words of every cultivated language may be reduced to groups 
or families, each of which is composed of words related to each other 
by identity of origin and similarity of signification. Thus, the words 
justice, justify, justification, justly, adjust, readjust, unjust, injustice, 
etc., are all kindred words, connected with the common parent just. 
So also, the words terrace, terraqueous, terrene, terrestrial, terrier, 
territory, inter, interment, disinter, Mediterranean, subterranean, etc., 
are all connected with their parent terra, the earth. 

What is an interjection ? Examples. What is derivation ? To what 
may the words of every cultivated language be reduced 1 Examples. 

* The term interjection is derived from the Latin word interjectus, which 
signifies thrown between. 



DERIVATION. ORIGIN OF WORDS. 117 

Words are divided into two general classes : — prim- 
itive and derivative. 

A primitive word is one that is not derived from any- 
other word or words in the language ; as, man, obey. 

A derivative word is one that is formed from some 
primitive word or words ; as, manly, disobey. 

ORIGIN OF ENGLISH WORDS. 

The basis of the English language is the Anglo- 
Saxon, which was introduced into England from Ger- 
many about the middle of the fifth century. 

This original stock, besides being greatly modified by use, has re- 
ceived large additions from other languages. The invasion of the 
Danes and Normans introduced many Danish and Norman-French 
words ; and a great number of Latin and Greek words have been 
since incorporated. We are also indebted for some of our words to 
the French, Italian, Spanish, German, and other languages. 

PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES. 

Most of the derivative words of our language, are 
, formed by the aid of prefixes and suffixes. 

A prefix is a letter, syllable, or word, joined to the 
beginning of a word; as, aloft, rebuild, overcome. 

A suffix is a letter or syllable joined to the end of a 
word; as, stormy, proud/y, lawless. 

Most of the suffixes do not admit of precise and accurate definitions. 

Two or more prefixes or suffixes are sometimes employed in the same 
word ; as, rediscover, powerfully. Rediscover contains two prefixes, re 
and disj and powerfully, two suffixes, ful and ly. 

Many of the roots or essential parts of the w r ords before which pre- 
fixes are placed, are not used as distinct words in our language. 

Into what two general classes are words divided ? What is a primi- 
tive word? Examples. A derivative word? Examples. What is 
the basis of our language ? What changes has our language undergone 
since the period of the Anglo-Saxons? How are most English deriva- 
tives formed? What is a prefix? Examples. What is a suffix? 
Examples. 



1 18 ETYMOLOGY. — DERIVATION. 

When a prefix ends in a sound that will not readily unite with the 
sound of the word before which it is placed, the final letter of the 
prefix is often changed or omitted; as, ignoble, for innoble; coexist, 
for conexist. 

English or Saxon Prefixes. 

The following are the prefixes of English or Saxon origin, with 
their significations : — 

A signifies on, in, or at; as, ashore, on shore ; asleep, in sleep. 

Be signifies upon, over, about, etc. ; as, bespeak, oedew, be- 
spr inkle. 

For signifies/rom or against; as,/orbear,ybrbid. 

Fore signifies before ; as , foresee , foretell . 

Mis signifies wrong, erroneous, or defective ; as, misconduct, mis- 
rule. 

Out signifies beyond, more, or exterior; as, outmn, ow^live, outside. 

Over implies excess or superiority ; as, overdo, overcome. 

Un denotes negation or privation ; as, uncertain, wnbind. 

Under generally signifies beneath, inferior, or subordinate ; as, un- 
derlay, undermine. 

Up denotes elevation or subversion ; as, wpland, upset. 

With generally denotes opposition or separation; as, withstand, 
withdraw. 

Latin Prefixes. 

The following are the principal prefixes derived from the Latin, 
with their significations : — 

A, ab, or abs, signifies from; as, avert, to turn from ; absolve, to re- 
lease from ; abstract, to draw from. 

Ad signifies to or at ; as, adjoin, to join to. In composition this 
prefix may become a, ac,af, ag, al, an, ap, ar,as, or at ; as, ascend, 
accede, affix, aggrandize, aZlot, annex, appeal, arrest, assume, 
attract. 

Ante signifies before ; as, antecedent, going before ; antediluvian, 
before the Flood. 

Circum signifies round or about; as, circumnavigate, to sail 
round. 

What is sometimes done with the final letter of a prefix ? 
[Pupils should be required to give the signification of each of the pre- 
fixes, with copious illustrative examples.] 



DERIVATION. LATIN PREFIXES. 119 

Con signifies with or together; as, convoke, to call together. 
This prefix takes also the forms co, cog, col, com, and cor ; as, co- 
here, connate, collect, compress, correlative. 

Contra signifies against; as, confrodict, to speak against. This 
prefix is sometimes changed to counter ; as, counteract. 

Be generally signifies from or down 4 as, deduce, to draw from; 
debase, to bring down. 

Dis generally implies separation or disunion; as, dissolve. It has 
sometimes a negative use ; as, disapprove. Dis takes also the forms 
di and dif; as, diverge, diffuse. 

E or ex signifies out, out of, or from ; as, eject, to cast out ; evade, 
to escape from. This prefix takes also the forms ec and ef; as, 
eccentric, e/Tace. 

Extra signifies beyond, or more than; as, extraordinary. 

In, before an adjective, has a negative signification, nearly equiva- 
lent to not ; as, inactive, not active ; insecure, not secure. Before 
a verb, in signifies in, into, or against; as, insert, to place in; in- 
dict, to speak against. This prefix takes also the forms en, im, ig, 
il,ir, and em; as, engrave, implacable, ignoble, illegal, irradiate, 
emboss. 

Inter signifies between or among ; as, intervene, to come between ; 
intersperse, to scatter among. 

Ob generally signifies against ; as, obstruct, to build against. Ob 
takes also the forms oc, of, and op; as, occur, q/fend, oppose. 

Per generally signifies through or by; as, pervade, to pass through ; 
perchance, by chance. 

Pre or pro, signifies before ; as, precede, to go before. 

Pro signifies for, forth, or forward ; as, pronoun, for a noun ; pro- 
voke, to call forth ; promote to move forward. 

Re signifies again or back; as, reenter, to enter again; recall, to 
call back. 

Se denotes departure or separation; as, secede, to withdraw from. 

Sub signifies under; as, subscribe, to write under. Sub has also 
the forms sue, svf, sug, sup, and sus ; as, succeed, suffuse, suggest, 
support, suspend. 

Super generally signifies beyond, above, or over ; as, supernatural, 
beyond nature ; supervise, to oversee. This prefix often becomes 
sur ; as, surcharge. 

Trans signifies over or beyond ; as, transfer, to carry over ; trans- 
Atlantic, bevond the Atlantic. 
11 



120 SYNTAX. 

Greek Prefixes. 

The following are some of the principal prefixes derived from the 
Greek, with their significations : — 

A or an denotes privation, and is generally equivalent to without ; 
as, atheist, without a God ; anarchy, without government. 

Anti signifies against; as, an^ichristian, against Christianity. 

Mono signifies single ; as, monosyllable, one syllable. 

Poly signifies many ; as, polysy liable, a word of many syllables. 

Syn signifies with or together ; as, 53/nthesis, putting together. Syn 
takes also the forms sy, syl, and sym ; as, system, syZlogism, sympathy. 

[For extended treatises on the subject of Derivation, the learner is 
referred to McElligottfs Analytical Manual and Town's Analysis.'] 



PART III. 

SYNTAX. 

Syntax treats of the construction of sentences, accord- 
ing to the established laws of speech. 

A sentence is an assemblage of words making com- 
plete sense. 

Sentences are of two kinds ; — simple and compound. 

A simple sentence is a sentence that contains only 
one nominative and one finite verb ; as. u The sun rises 
in the east.' 7 

A compound sentence is one that contains two or 
more simple sentences; as, " Industry procures compe- 
tence, and frugality preserves it ;' ? — " He fills, he 
bounds, connects, and equals all." 

The simple sentences which unite to form a com- 
pound sentence, are called members or clauses. 

Of what does syntax treat ? What is a sentence ? Into what two 
general classes are sentences divided? What is a simple sentence? 
Examples. A compound sentence ? Examples. What are the sim- 
ple sentences embraced in a compound sentence called ? 



SYNTAX. RULES. 1.21 

The principal parts of a simple sentence are the sub- 
ject or nominative, the verb, and the object. Thus, in 
the sentence, " Temperance promotes health ;" temper- 
ance is the subject, promotes the verb, and health the 
object. 

A sentence in which the verb is intransitive, has only two principal 
parts, the subject and the verb ; as, " He runs." 

A Phrase is a short expression, or form of speech ; as, " At 
length ;"— " Hand in hand." 

Words used to explain or modify other words, are called adjuncts. 
This term embraces all the words of a simple sentence except the 
principal parts. Many adjuncts are composed of two or more words ; 
as, " Printing was invented in the fifteenth century."' The whole 
phrase, " in the fifteenth century," is here an adjunct of was invent- 
ed. Tfie and fifteenth are also adjuncts of century. 

An Idiom is a form of expression- peculiar to a language ; as, 
" Bear with me;" — " They came forward, to a man." 

The idioms of a language are not governed by the ordinary rules of 
syntax. A knowledge of them is therefore best acquired by observing 
carefully the phraseology of the best speakers and writers. 

Agreement is the correspondence of one word with 
another, in gender, number, person, case, or form. 

Government is the power which one word has over 
another, in determining its state. 

RULES OF SYNTAX. 

Rule I. — Nominatives. 

The subject of a finite verb, must be in the nomina- 
tive case ; as, " The moon shines with borrowed light ;" 
— " Thou shalt not steal." 

What are the principal parts of a simple sentence? Illustrate. 
What of a sentence in which the verb is intransitive ? Examples. 
What is a phrase ? Examples. What is an adjunct ? Examples. TVhat 
is an idiom? Examples. What is agreement ? What is government? 
What is the rule respecting nominatives ? Examples. 



122 SYNTAX. — RULES. 

Rule II. — Apposition. 
A noun or pronoun used to identify or explain 
another noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the 
same case; as, "The Salutation of me, Paul;" — 
"Xenophon, the soldier and historian, was a disciple 
of Socrates." 

EULE III. PoSSESSIVES. 

The possessive case is governed by the noun which 
denotes the thing possessed ; as, " The surfs rays ;" — 
"My native land." 

Rule IV. — Independent Case. 

When a noun or pronoun is used absolutely, having 
no dependence on any other word, it is put in the inde- 
pendent case; as, " These are thy glorious works, Pa- 
rent of good;" — " He that hath ears to hear, let him 
hear." 

Rule V. — Pronouns. 

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in gen- 
der, number, and person ; as, " On the seventh day, God 
ended his work which he had made ;" — " Every tree is 
known by its fruit." 

Rule VI. — Pronouns. 
When two or more words denoting different objects 
are taken conjointly, forming one common antecedent, 
the pronoun agreeing with them must be in the plural 
number; as, "Virtue and good breeding render their 
possessors truly amiable." 

What is the rule respecting apposition ? Examples. Respecting 
possessives? Examples. Respecting the independent case? Ex- 
amples. Respecting the agreement of pronouns? Examples. Re- 
specting the agreement of a pronoun with two or more words denoting 
different objects, taken conjointly ? Examples. 



RULES OF SYNTAX. 123 

Rule VII. — Pronouns. 
When two or more antecedents in the singular, are 
so connected that the pronoun agrees with each term 
separately, or with one of them exclusively, the pro- 
noun should be in the singular number. 

Examples : — " Man is not such a machine as a clock or a watch, 
which moves merely as it is moved ;" — " He, and no one else, was 
allowed to follow his inclinations ;" — "Every good act and every 
good purpose will receive its reward." 

Rule VIII. — Adjectives. 
Adjectives belong to the nouns or pronouns which 
they qualify or define ; as, " A good man ;" — " These 
things." 

Rule IX. — Verbs. — Agreement. 

A verb must agree with its nominative in number 
and person ; as, "I go ;' ? — " Thou seest ;" — " He 
hears." 

Rule X. — Verbs. — Agreement. 

When two or more nominatives denoting different 
objects are taken conjointly, forming one common sub- 
ject, the verb agreeing with them should be in the plu- 
ral number; as, " Socrates and Plato were eminent phi- 
losophers ; ,J — "The air, the earth, the water, teem 
with delightful existence." 

Rule XI. — Verbs. — Agreement. 
When two or more singular nominatives are so con- 
nected that the verb agrees with each subject sepa- 

What is the rale respecting the agreement of a pronoun with each 
of two or more antecedents taken separately, or with one of them ex- 
clusively? Examples. What is the general rule for adjectives? Ex- 
amples. The rale respecting the agreement of verbs? Examples. 
Respecting the agreement of a verb with two or more nominatives 
denoting different objects taken conjointly? Examples. 
11* 



124 SYNTAX. RULES. 

rately, or with one of them to the exclusion of the 
others, the verb should be in the singular number. 

Examples : — " Duty, and not interest, n-as his constant rule of ac- 
tion j" — "Nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, breaks the serene of 
heaven ;" — " Neither Astrology, nor Alchemy, deserves the name 
of a science;" — "In every tribe, superstition, or gratitude, or 
fortune, has exalted a particular family ;" — "Caesar, as well as 
Cicero, was remarkable for Ms eloquencefj'j — " Thine is the king- 
dom, and the power, and the glory." % 

"Every tongue and every eye 
Does homage to the passer by." 

Rule XII. — Verbs. — Government. 

Transitive verbs govern the objective case; as, "I 
have heard him ;" — ' ' Honor thy father and thy mother" 

Rule XIII. — Same Case. 

Intransitive and passive verbs have the same case 
after them as before them, when both words refer to 
the same person or thing; as, " Society is the true 
sphere of human virtue;" — 'KEhejN^shed him to be 
their king;" — iC He soon became the leader of his 
party ;" — " He was chosen librarian ;" — " Homer has 
been styled the prince of poets." 

Rule XIV. — Gover^ient of the Infinitive. 

The infinitive mode may be governed by a verb, a 
noun, or an adjective ; *as, " Strive to improve;" — "I 
am in haste to return;" — " The ship was ready to 
sail." 

What is the rule respecting two or more single nominatives so 
connected that the verb agrees with each separately, or with one to 
the exclusion of the others ? Examples. What is the rule respect- 
ing transitive verbs ? Examples. Respecting the same case ? Exam- 
ples. Respecting the government of infinitives ? Examples. 



RtJLES OF SYNTAX. 125 

Eule XV. — Tenses. 

In the use of verbs, those tenses should be employed 
which express correctly the sense intended. 

Eule XVI. — Participles. 

Participles relate to nouns or pronouns; as, " He 
stood leaning on his spade and gazing at the bright- 
ness in the west. 7 ' 

Eule XVII. — Adverbs. 

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs ; 
as, c< Men frequently contend for trifles;" — "It was 
very thankfully received. 57 

Eule XVIII. — Conjunctions. 

Conjunctions connect words or sentences; as, "Idle- 
ness and Ignorance are the parents of many vices;" — 
" He fled because he was afraid. 77 

Eule XIX. — Prepositions. — Eelation. 

Prepositions connect words, and show the relation 
between them. 

Examples : — " He travelled for pleasure ;" — " They were destitute of 
food f — "This is an age of improvement ;" — " Ambassadors 
were sent previously to the declaration." 

Eule XX. — Prepositions. — Government. 

Prepositions govern the objective case; as, "They 
came to us in the spirit of kindness ;" — " From him 
that is needy, turn not away. 77 

What is the rule respecting tenses? What is the rule respecting par- 
ticiples? Examples. Respecting adverbs? Examples. Respecting 
conjunctions? Examples. Respecting the relation expressed by prep- 
ositions? Examples. What do prepositions govern ? Examples. 



126 SYNTAX. RULES. 

Rule XXI. — Interjections. 
Interjections have no grammatical relation to the 
other words of a sentence; as, " These were delightful 
days; but, alas! they are no more." 

Rule XXII. — General Rule. 
The different parts of a sentence should be made to 
harmonize with one another ; and the several clauses 
should be so constructed and arranged as to express 
clearly the various relations, connections, and depen- 
dences intended, according to the best usages of the 
language. 

PARSING. 
Parsing is an explanation of the properties and 
offices of words, according to the principles of gram- 
mar. 

ORDER OF PARSING. 

A Noun, and why? — Common or Proper, and why? — 
Gender, and why? — Person, and why? — Number, and 
why? — Case, and why? — Disposal, and Rule. 

An Adjective, and why ? — Class, and why ? — If a descrip- 
tive adjective, give the Degree of Comparison, with the rea- 
son. Compare it. — Disposal, and Rule. 

In parsing an Article, the pupil should tell whether it is 
Definite or Indefinite , and why ; to what it belongs ; and 
assign the Rule. See Models for Parsing, under Rule VIII. 

A Pronoun, and why? — Class, and why? — Gender, 
Number, and Person; and why? [If a Relative Pronoun, 
point out its Antecedent, and tell what clauses are connected 
by it.] — Case, and why? Decline it, if declinable. — Dispo- 
sal, and Rule. 

A Verb, and why? — Regular or Irregular, and why? — 

What is the rule respecting interjections ? Examples. What is the 
general rule of Syntax ? What is parsing ? 



NOUNS AND PRONOUNS. — NOMINATIVES. 127 

Principal parts. — Transitive or Intransitive, and why ? [If 
Transitive, tell whether it is in the active or passive Voice.] 

— Mode, and why? — Tense, and why? — Person and Num- 
ber, and why? — Disposal, and Rule. 

In parsing a Participle, the following order should be 
observed: — A Participle, and why? — Principal Parts of the 
verb. — Perfect, or Imperfect, and why? — Transitive, or In- 
transitive, and why ? [If Transitive, tell whether it is in the 
active or passive Voice.] — Disposal, and Rule. 

An Adverb, and why? — Class, and why? — Disposal, and 
Rule. 

A Preposition, and why ? — Relation expressed, and Rule. 

A Conjunction, and why? — Connection, and Rule. 

An Interjection, and why ? — Rule. 

[The Order of Parsing here given, and the Models of Parsing intro- 
duced in connection with the Exercises, are inserted for the guidance 
of young learners. It will often be found expedient in parsing to omit 
the etymological modifications of a word, and give only its syntax or 
constructive office in the sentence. Advanced classes should attend less 
to the common Order of Parsing, and more to the Analysis of language. 
It is hoped that teachers will take special pains to render the exercises 
in parsing as intellectual as possible. Pupils should be taught that cor- 
rect parsing always requires correct thinking ; and that it is indispensa- 
bly necessary for them to understand thoroughly the sense of any piece 
of writing, before they attempt to parse it. They should be required 
to explain the more difficult passages, by transposing the order of the 
words, or by expressing the sense in their own language ; but the 
words employed by the author should be preserved unaltered in pars- 
ing-] 

NOUNS AND PRONOUNS. 
Rule I. — Nominatives. 
The subject of a finite verb must be in the nomina- 
tive case ; as, " The'moon shines with borrowed light;" 

— u Thou shalt not steal." 

Remark 1. — A verb in the infinitive mode, a sentence, or a phrase 
sometimes performs the office of a noun or pronoun in the nominative ; 

What is the rule respecting nominatives? Examples. What is 
sometimes used to supply the place of a noun or pronoun in the nomina- 
tive ? Examples. 



128 SYNTAX. — APPOSITION. 

as, "To err is human ;" — " That one man should be punished for the 
crimes of another, is unjust." 

Rem. 2. — In poetry, the nominative is sometimes omitted; as, 
" Lives there, who loves his pain ? " When the verb is in the impera- 
tive mode, the nominative is frequently omitted, both in prose and po- 
etry -j as, " Take care of the minutes, and the hours will take care of 
themselves. " 

Rem. 3. — In declaratory and conditional sentences, the nominative 
usually precedes the verb ; but in interrogative and imperative sen- 
tences, the nominative most commonly follows either the principal 
verb or an auxiliary. 

Observation 1. — The nominative is also placed after the verb : — 
1. When a sentence is introduced by the expletive adverb there ; as, 
" There are many good pieces in this collection." 2. When a supposi- 
tion is expressed without the use of the conjunction if; as, " Were 
there no difference, there would be no choice." 3. When a sentence is 
introduced by neither or nor, not used as a correspondent to another 
conjunction ; as, " The eye which saw him shall see him no more, nei- 
ther shall his place any more behold him." 

Obs. 2. — When who, which, or what Is used as the subject of the 
verb in an interrogative sentence, and also when which or what is used 
as an adjective belonging to the subject, the nominative precedes the 
verb ; as, " Who is there to oppose him ? " — " What object will be ac- 
complished ? " 

Obs. 3. — Besides the cases here enumerated, there are many others 
in which the nominative may either precede or follow the verb, and 
for which no definite rules can be given. 

Rule II. — Apposition. 

A noun or pronoun used to identify or explain 

another noun or pronoun, is put, by apposition, in the 

same case; as, "The Salutation of me, Paul;" — 

"Xenophon, the soldier and historian, was a disciple 

of Socrates.' 5 

Rem. 1. — Apposition signifies adding to, and denotes that another 
name is added for the same person or thing. 

Rem. 2. — A noun is sometimes put in apposition with a sentence 
or phrase ; as, " He permitted me to make free use of his valuable 
library ; — a kindness which I shall always remember with grat- 
itude." 

What position does the nominative usually take in declaratory and condi- 
tional sentences ? Interrogative and imperative sentences ? What is the 
rule respecting apposition ? Examples. With what besides a noun or 
pronoun, is a noun sometimes in apposition? Examples. 



NOUNS AND PRONOUNS. APPOSITION. 129 

Rem. 3. — A noun denoting a whole is sometimes followed by two 
or more words in apposition with it, denoting the parts of which it is 
composed; as, "They travelled in company, some on horseback, 
some in carriages, and others on foot." 

Rem. 4. — A distributive term in the singular number, or a word in 
the singular modified by a distributive, is often put in apposition with 
a noun or pronoun in the plural; as, " They have fallen, each in his 
field of glory." — Cowpcr. " They fled, every man into his tent." — 
1 Sam. 4 : 10. 

Rem. 5. — In the phrases one another and each other, the words one 
and each have a construction similar to that described in the last Re- 
mark ; as, " They confide in each other ;" — " Bear ye one another' s 
burdens." In the former of these sentences, each is in apposition 
with they, and other is governed by the preposition in. In the latter, 
one is in apposition with ye, and another's is governed by burdens. 

Rem. 6. — A plural term is sometimes used emphatically after a 
series of words or phrases comprehended under it. 

Examples : — a Ease, fortune, life, all were squandered. " — Bancroft. 
— "To be murdered, to be tortured, to be robbed, to be sold into 
slavery, to be exposed to the outrages of gangs of foreign banditti 
calling themselves patriots, — these are evidently evils from which 
men of every religion and men of no religion, wish to be protect- 
ed." — Macaulay. 

Rem. 7. — Two or more proper names, applied to the same individ- 
ual, may be regarded as forming one complex noun; as, " Thomas 
Jefferson was the third president of the United States." 

Rem. 8. — Anomalous expressions sometimes occur, in which a noun 
used without the sign of possession, is put in apposition with a noun or 
pronoun in the possessive case ; as, " This did not prevent John's being 
acknowledged and solemnly inaugurated Duke of Normandy." — Hen- 
ry 's Hist, of Brit. " His eminence as a judge was great and undenia- 
ble." — Brougham. 

What remark is made respecting words denoting the several parts of a 
whole ? Examples. What is the remark respecting a distributive term in 
the singular number, or a word in the singular modified by a distributive ? 
Examples. Explain and illustrate the construction of the phrases each 
other and one another. What is said of two or more proper names, ap- 
plied to the same individual? Examples. 



130 SYNTAX. — ■ POSSESSIVES. 

Rule III. — Possessives. 

The possessive case is governed by the noun which 

denotes the thing possessed; as, " The sarts rays ;" — 

"My native land." 

Rem. 1. — When the governing word is rendered obvious by the use 
of the possessive, it is frequently omitted ; as, " I called at the book- 
seller's ;" that is, a at the bookseller's store." " 

Rem. 2. — When the thing possessed belongs to two or more pos- 
sessors conjointly, the sign is annexed to the last only of the possess- 
ive nouns ; as, " Mason and Dixon's line ;" — " Andrews and Stod- 
dard's Grammar ;" — " Allen, Morrill, and WardwelVs store." But 
when different things of the same name belong severally to two or 
more possessors, the sign should be annexed to each possessive ; as, 
" Webster's, Worcester's, and Smart's Dictionary ;" that is, Web- 
ster's Dictionary, Worcester's Dictionary, and Smart's Dictionary. 

Rem. 3. — Two or more words closely united, and forming essen- 
tially one complex noun, have the sign annexed to the last only ; as, 
"Henry the Eighth's reign;" — " Thomas Jefferson's administra- 
tion ; " — " John the Baptist 's head . " — . 

Rem. 4. — When two or more possessive nouns in apposition are 
governed by a noun expressed, the governing word is usually placed 
after the others, and the sign annexed to the last only of the possess- 
ives ; as, " For David my servant's sake." 

Rem. 5. — When an explanatory term consisting of several words, 
or a number of explanatory terms, are subjoined to a noun in the pos- 
sessive, and the governing word is understood, the sign is generally 
annexed to the first possessive only ; as, " I left the book at Johnson's, 
a respectable bookseller, and a worthy man." 

Rem. 6. — Other cases sometimes occur for which no certain rule can 
be given. Thus, we may say, "I called at Mr. Brown the jeweller's,'' 
or "I called at Mr. Brown's the jeweller ;" since both these forms are 
authorized by usage. 

What is the rule respecting possessives? Examples. What use is 
made of the sign, when the thing possessed belongs to two or more possessors 
conjointly ? Examples. What, when different things of the same name 
belong severally to two or more possessors? Examples. What, when 
two or more words closely united form one complex noun? Examples. 
What is said respecting two or more possessives in apposition, governed by 
a noun expressed ? Examples. 



NOUNS AND TRONOUNS. INDEPENDENT CASE. 131 

Rem. 7. — When a noun or a pronoun, preceding a participle used 
as a noun, is properly in the possessive case, the sign of possession 
should not be omitted. 

Correct Examples. 

11 A great public, as well as private advantage, arises from every- 
one's devoting himself to that occupation which he prefers, and for 
which he is specially fitted." — Wayland. " This is known by the 
moon's always keeping nearly the same face towards us." — 
Olmsted. 

False Syntax . 

" Such is the advantage we receive from the chain being composed 
of so many links, the spine of so many bones." — Palcy. " There 
was a chance of him recovering his senses." — Macaulay. "A con- 
temporary scholar speaks of the author being unknown." — Thomas 
Campbell. 

Obs. — This form is often more agreeable than the regular posses- 
sive, but no definite rule can be given to decide, in every case, which 
is to be preferred. Care should be taken to use that form which ac- 
cords best with good usage. 

Rem. 8. — When we wish to mention depart only of the objects pos- 
sessed, we should employ both the preposition of and the possessive 
case j as, " An anecdote of Dr. Franklin's j " — " These poems are as 
good as some of 'Dana's." 

Rem. 9. — An explanatory clause should never be inserted between 
a possessive noun and the word by which it is governed. The follow- 
ing sentence is faulty in this respect : — " She began to extol the far- 
mer's, as she called him, excellent understanding." It should be, 
" She began to extol the excellent understanding of the farmer, as she 
called him." 

Rule IV. — Independent Case. 

When a noun or pronoun is used absolutely, having 
no dependence on any other word, it is put in the inde- 
pendent case; as, " These are thy glorious works. 
Parent of good;" — u He that hath ears to hear 5 let 
him hear." 

What care should be observed respecting possessives before participial 
nouns ? Examples. Correct the false syntax, and show why it is false. 
What is the rule respecting the independent case ? Examples. 
12 



132 SYNTAX. INDEPENDENT CASE. 

Rem. — This rule applies, — 

(1) When a direct address is made, and the noun or pronoun has 
no dependence on the rest of the sentence ; as, " The fault, dear 
Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." This is the case inde- 
pendent by address. 

(2) When a noun or pronoun is joined with a participle having 
no dependence on any other word ; as, " The sun having risen, we 
departed on our journey." This is the case independent with a par- 
ticiple. 

(3) When a noun is used to introduce the subject of remark, and 
then left independent of the rest of the sentence ; as, " The 
Pilgrim fathers, where are they?" This is the case independent by 
pleonasm * 

Obs. — This redundant use of the noun or pronoun is generally inel- 
egant, but in poetry and animated prose it is sometimes employed with 
happy effect. 

(4) When a noun or pronoun is used to express an exclamation ; 
as, " Oh, the miseries of war !" This is the case independent by ex- 
clamation. 

(5) When a noun having no dependence on any other word, is 

used to express a name or title, as " The Sketch Book," " Day's 

Algebra ;" or to denote time, measure, distance, direction, or place, as 

" He left the country ten years ago," " The tree was found to be 

eighty feet in height," " He walked twelve miles." This is the case 

independent by ellipsis. 

Obs. — This class of words in the independent case is not intended 
to include those nouns before which a preposition is properly under- 
stood. In all such examples the preposition should be supplied in pars- 
ing, and the noun made to depend upon it in the objective case. There 
are, however, instances in which the noun is not properly dependent 
on a preposition either expressed or implied ; and examples of this 
class should be put in the independent case.f 

Name the several circumstances under which nouns and pronouns are used 
independently, and give examples of each kind. 

* For several of the divisions embraced in this classification of words in 
the independent case, the author is indebted to the excellent treatise of Mr. 
G. Brown. 

t " In expressing distance or duration, either in time or space, we use the 
noun absolutely; as, 'He walked ten miles; 9 — ' He stood three hours.'" — 
Latham. 

" Nouns signifying the time when, and time hoto long-, weight, measure, 
and distance, are put in the objective case absolute." — Ainsworth. 

" Lowth, followed by the whole tribe of writers on this subject, alleges 



PRONOUNS. RULE V. 133 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 

fit is hoped that teachers will not fail to insist on a thorough per- 
formance of these exercises. Rules may be recited very fluently with- 
out being understood ; but an application of them in the construction 
of sentences, requires a careful attention to principles, while it also 
aids the learner in forming an accurate style of writing. — See Oral 
Instruction.] 

Write sentences containing nouns and pronouns in the nominative ; 
— containing a verb in the infinitive, a sentence, or a phrase, used as 
the subject of a verb ; — nouns and pronouns in apposition with other 
words ; — nouns and pronouns in the possessive case ; — two or more 
possessives, governed by a noun denoting joint possession; — two or 
■more possessives, governed by nouns denoting different objects of the 
same name ; — two or more words, forming essentially one complex noun 
in the possessive ; — two or more possessives in apposition, governed by 
a noun expressed; — a noun or pronoun in the possessive, preceding a 
participial noun ; — a noun or pronoun in the case independent by ad- 
dress ; — in the case independent with a participle; — in the case indepen- 
dent by pleonasm ; — in the case independent by exclamation ; — in the 
case independent by ellipsis. 

Rule V. — Pronouns. 
Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in gen- 
der, number, and person ; as, " On the seventh day, 
God ended his work which he had made;" — " Every 
tree is known by its fruit." 

Rem. 1. — The neuter pronoun it is one of the most general terms 
in the language. It may be used, — 

"What is the rule respecting the agreement of pronouns'? Exam- 
ples. Enumerate the peculiar use of the pronoun it, and give examples of 
each. 

some prepositions to be understood before these expressions of time ; but this 
is a palpable error, arising from preconceived notions of the necessity of such 
words. The fact is otherwise. All these peculiar phrases are idiomatic ; 
and the remains of the early state of our language. The same idiom is found 
in the Greek and Latin languages, which were built on a Teutonic founda- 
tion ; — it is found in the Saxon, from which it is derived into modern Eng- 
lish ; and is therefore to be considered as original, or coeval with the lan- 
guage." — Webster. 

See also Smart, J. M. Putnam, Frazee, Goldsbury, Webber, Flower, Allen 
and Corn well, and Nutting. 



134 v SYNTAX. PRONOUNS. 

(1) To represent a noun in the plural number; as, "It was the 
heretics that first began to rail." 

(2) To represent a noun in the masculine or feminine gender ; as, 
" It is a brother of the prince ;" « — "It is the queen." 

(3) To represent a noun in the first or second person ; as, " It is 
I ; »— ."Isftyou?" 

(4) To represent a sentence or phrase; as, "It is impossible Zo 
please all men ;" — " It is observed by Seneca, that prosperity greatly 
obstructs the knowledge of ourselves." 

(5) To denote some state or condition ; as, "It rains ;" — " Has it 
come to this?" 

(6) It is sometimes employed in a vague or indefinite sense ; as, 
" During this time they had lorded it over the land with absolute 
sway. ' ' — Prescott. 

Obs. — In most of the cases here enumerated, it is an inceptive pro- 
noun, used to form an easy and agreeable introduction to a sentence. 

Rem. 2. — The personal pronoun them should never be employed as 
an adjective. We should say, "Bring me those books;" — not, 
" them books." 

Rem. 3. — When two or more personal pronouns in the second 
person, are employed in the same connection, they should be made 
to correspond in style. The following passage is therefore inac- 
curate : — 

" Enjoy ijour dear wit, and gay rhetoric 
That hath so well been taught her dazzling fence ; 
Thou art not fit to hear thyself convinced. " — Milton. 

Your should be thy, to correspond with thou and thyself. 

False Syntax. 
" Ere you remark another's sin, 
Bid thy own conscience look within." — Gay. 

" What strange events can strike with more surprise 
Than those which lately struck thy wondering eyes 1 
Yet, taught by 'these, confess th' Almighty just, 
And where you can't unriddle, learn to trust." — Parnell. 

What improper use is sometimes made of the pronoun them ? Illustrate. 
What rule should be observed, when two or more personal pronouns in the 
second person are employed in the same connection ? Correct the false syn- 
tax, and show why it is false. 



PRONOUNS. RULE V. 135 

Rem. 4. — The use of different relatives in the same sentence refer- 
ring to the same antecedent, should generally be avoided. The fol- 
lowing sentence is faulty in this respect : — u I have amused myself 
with remarking some of the motley characters that have thus usurped 
the ancient abode of royalty, and who seem as if placed here to give 
a farcical termination to the drama of human pride." — Irving. Who 
should be changed to that, to correspond with that in the preceding 
clause. 

Rem. 5. — Monarchs and editors of periodical publications often 
employ the plural form of a pronoun in the first person, instead of 
the singular; as, "We, taking into our royal consideration the 
various disorders and abuses," etc. — " We charge you, on allegiance 
to our 'self ';" — "We cheerfully admit the following communication 
into our columns, but do not hold our self responsible for the senti- 
ments which it embodies." 

Rem. G. — The relative ivho is applied to persons, 
and which to irrational animals and inanimate things ; 
as, " Homer, who wrote the Iliad ;" — " The man whom 
we saw;' 7 — "The horse which Alexander rode;" — 
"The rain which fell." 

Obs. — The pronoun who should not be used to represent a name 
which is taken as a word merely. Thus, " The court of queen Eliza- 
beth, who was but another name for prudence and economy," should 
be, " The court of queen Elizabeth, whose name was but another word 
for prudence and economy." 

Rem. 7. — The pronoun that is applied either to persons or things ; 
as, " He that hath knowledge, spareth his words ;" — " The bird that 
sung so sweetly ;" — " The house that was built last year." 

Obs. 1. — That should be employed in preference to who or 
which, — 

(1) When its use will prevent an unpleasant repetition of either 
of these pronouns; as, " Who that is not blinded by prejudice, will 
believe this report?" 

(2) When persons form a part only of the antecedent ; as, " The 
men and things that he saw." 

What form of expression is peculiar to sovereigns and editors of periodi- 
cal publications ? Examples. What distinction is observed, in the use 
of who and which ? Select several examples of each, from other works. 
To what is the pronoun that applied? Examples. When is that employed 
in preference to who or which ? Examples of each class. 

12* 



136 SYNTAX. PRONOUNS. 

(3) After a collective noun denoting a body of persons ; as, 
"The army that was defeated, was composed of veteran soldiers." 

Obs. 2. — There are other cases in which that may be employed or 
not, according to the taste of the writer ; as, " He that formed the eye, 
shall he not see ? " — Ps. 94 : 9. " He who plants an oak, looks for- 
ward to future ages, and plants for posterity." — Irving. u There is a 
serene and settled majesty in woodland scenery, that enters into the 
soul and dilates and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations. " — 
Ibid. 

Rem. 8. — The possessive whose is applied to both persons and 
things; as, " Franklin, whose name will ever be remembered ;" — 
" Virtue, whose reward is lasting ;" — " Frowning rocks, whose lofty 
summits." See note on pp. 76-7. 

Rem. 9. — When two or more pronouns, or nouns and pronouns, 
of different persons, are closely united in the same construction, the 
word which is in the second person should generally be placed first, 
and that in the first person, last ; as, " You and Charles, and I, were 
engaged in the same transaction ;" — " You and your friend were 
absent ;" — " My brother and I were detained." 

Rem. 10. — The word what should not be used for the conjunction 
that j nor that for the compound relative what. The following sentences 
are faulty in this respect : — " They would not believe but what he was 
guilty ;" — " We speak that we do know, and testify that we have 
seen." 

Rem. 11. — Relatives should be so placed as to prevent all ambi- 
guity in regard to the words which they are intended to represent. 
The following sentence is therefore objectionable : — " He is unwor- 
thy the confidence of a fellow-being, that disregards the laws of his 
Maker." Corrected : — " He that disregards the laws of his Maker, 
is unworthy of the confidence of a fellow-being." 

Obs. — "I am the man who command ) r ou." This sentence is 
ambiguous, and maybe corrected in two different ways. If who is 
intended to refer to I, we should say, " I who command you, am the 
man." But if who is intended to refer to man, then we should say, " I 
am the man who commands you." 

Rem. 12. — In familiar language, the relative is sometimes improp- 
erly omitted. Thus, " He is a man I greatly esteem," should be, " He 
is a man whom I greatly esteem." So also, " I am dissatisfied with 

To what is the possessive whose applied? Examples. What is the 
rule respecting two or more pronouns, or nouns and pronouns, of different 
persons ? Examples. What is the rule respecting the position of relatives ? 
Illustrate. 



PRONOUNS. RULE VI. 137 

the manner I have spent my time," should be, " I am dissatisfied with 
the manner in which I have spent my time." 

Rem. 13. — Whatever is sometimes employed merely for the purpose 
of rendering a word or phrase emphatic • as, " No condition whatever." 

Rem. 14. — What is sometimes used adverbially, in the sense of 
partly, or in part ; as, " JVhat with ' wooding ' at two or three places, 
and what with the excitement of the day, we were too fatigued to give 
more than a glance and a passing note of admiration to the beauty of 
the scene." — Willis. 

Rem. 15. — A pronoun is frequently employed to represent a sen- 
tence or phrase ; as, " Josephus received a liberal education among the 
Pharisees , after which he went to Rome, where he cultivated his 
talents to great advantage." Which here represents the whole 
clause, " received a liberal education among the Pharisees." 

Rem. 16. — A pronoun sometimes relates to an adjective for its 
antecedent, but this usage is inelegant and should generally be 
avoided.* 

Rem. 17. — A pronoun sometimes relates to a verb for its antece- 
dent, but this usage is also objectionable. f 

Rule VI. — Pronouns. 
When two or more words denoting different objects, 
are taken conjointly, forming one common antecedent, 
the pronoun agreeing witlTthem must be in the plural 
number; as, " Virtue and good breeding, render their 
possessor truly amiable." 

Rem. — When the antecedents are of different persons, the plural 
pronoun referring to them should be of the first person, if either of 
the antecedents is of the first ; but if neither of the antecedents is of 
the first person, the pronoun should be of the second person ; as, 
"James and I have finished our lessons;" — " You and Henry 
shared it between you." 

What besides nouns are often employed as the antecedents of pronouns ? 
Examples. What is the rule respecting the agreement of a pronoun 
with two or more words denoting different objects taken conjointly? 
Examples. What is the ride respecting the agreement of a plural pro- 
noun with antecedents of different persons ? Examples. 

* " If this enumeration is complete, which, of course, we would not affirm 
it to be." — N. A. Rcvieic. 

t " Nor is it less pleased with its first successful endeavors to walk, or 
rather to run, which precedes walking." — Paley. 



138 SYNTAX. — EXERCISES. 

Rule VII. — Pronouns. 
When two or more antecedents in the singular, are 
so connected that the pronoun agrees with each term 
separately, or with one of them exclusively, the pro- 
noun should be in the singular number ; as, " Man is 
not such a machine as a clock or a watch, which moves 
merely as it is moved ;■" — u He, and no one else, was 
allowed to follow his inclinations;" — " Every good 
act and every good purpose will receive its reward. 7 ' 

Rem. — When a singular and plural antecedent are joined by the 
connective or or nor, the pronoun agreeing with them should be in 
the plural number ; as, " Neither he nor his friends have interested 
themselves in this subject." 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 

Write sentences containing examples which illustrate the agree- 
ment of pronouns with their antecedents ; — one or more examples of 
it, used to represent a word in the plural; — of it, representing a 
noun in the masculine or feminine; — containing examples of who, 
which, and that, correctly employed; — of whose, referring to per- 
sons; — of whose, referring to irrational animals and things without 
life; — two or more pronouns, or nouns and pronouns, of different 
persons, joined in the same construction ; — examples illustrating Rule 
6th ; — a plural pronoun referring to antecedents of different persons ; 
— examples illustrating Rule 7th ; — a pronoun agreeing with a sin- 
gular and a plural antecedent connected by or or nor. 

EXERCISES IN PARSING. 
[The words which are designed to be parsed, are printed in italics. 
The sentences following the dividing line, require an application of the 
Remarks, and may be omitted by beginners.] 

Model. 
"His task is accomplished." 

What is the rule respecting the agreement of a pronoun with each of 
two or more antecedents taken separately, or with one of them exclu- 
sively ? Examples. What is the rule respecting a pronoun agreeing with 
a singular and a plural antecedent, connected by or or nor? Examples. 



EXERCISES IN PARSING. 139 

His is a pronoun, because it is a word used to supply the place of 
a noun ; — personal, because it expresses person and number of 
itself ; — in the masculine gender, because it denotes a male ; — 
in the third person, because it represents a person spoken of ; — in 
the singular number, because it implies but one object ; — in the 
possessive case, because it denotes possession. Nom. he ; Poss. 
his ; Obj. him ; Ind. he. — It is governed by task. The posses- 
sive case is governed by the noun which denotes the thing pos- 
sessed. 

Task is a noun, because it is used to express the name of an object ; 
— common, because it may be applied to any one of a whole 
class j — in the neuter gender, because it denotes an object which 
is neither male nor female ; — in the third person, because it 
denotes an object spoken of; — in the singular number, because it 
implies but one 5 and in the nominative case, because it is the 
subject of the verb is accomplished. The subject of a finite verb 
must be in the nominative case. 

"The cars have arrived." — "He who overcomes his passions, 
conquers his greatest enemies." — " Venerable men! you have come 
down to us from a former generation." — " Alexander and Napoleon 
were destroyers of their race." — "Gibbon the historian, was an 
infidel." — "It was neither he nor his brother, that brought the 
intelligence." — "Our country is ruined, if it becomes too prosper- 
ous." — B. B. Edwards. " There is no service which a man of com- 
manding intellect can render his fellow-creatures, better than that of 
leaving behind him an unspotted example." — Andrews Norton. 



" Whether teachers are to continue in the brighter ages which 
prophecy announces, is rendered doubtful by a very striking predic- 
tion of the times of the Messiah." — Channing. 

"Scenes must be beautiful, ivhich, daily viewed. 
Please daily, and whose novelty survives 
Long knowledge and the scrutiny of years ; — 
Praise justly due to those that /describe." — Cowper. 



"Edward the Confessor's tomb." — "It would be fruitless, to 
investigate the peculiarities of their respective institutions, which bear 
a very close affinity to one another." — Prescott. "John Marshall 
was an illustrious judge." — " Marsh, Capen, and Lyon's publica- 
tions." — " These points being known, his ignorance of other points, 
his doubts concerning other points, affect not the certainty of his 
reasoning." — Paley. "These are different questions from the 



140 SYNTAX. — ADJECTIVES. 

question of the artist's existence ; or, which is the same, whether the 
thing before us be # a work of art or not." — Ibid. " They had heard 
of the arrival of two independent companies twenty days before." — 
Sparks. " No member or members could arrogate to themselves the 
exclusive merit." — N. Y. Review. " It is we who are Hamlet." — 
HazlitU 

" My friends, do they now and then send 
A wish or a thought after me?" — Cowper. 

Rule VIII. — Adjectives. 

Adjectives belong to the nouns or pronouns which 
they qualify or define ; as, "A good man ;" — " These 
things." 

Rem. 1. — The adjectives this and that, these and those, must agree 
in number with the nouns which they define ; as, this book, these 
books; that man, those men. 

Rem. 2. — "When this and that are used in the sense of former and 

latter, this and these correspond with latter, that and those with former. 

Examples : — " Religion raises men above themselves ; irreligion 

sinks them beneath the brutes ; — this [irreligion] binds them 

down to a pitiable speck of earth, that [religion] opens for them 

a prospect to the skies." 

" Then palaces and lofty domes arose ; — 
These for devotion, and for pleasure those. 1 ' — Fope. 

Rem. 3. — Adjectives which imply unity, must be joined to 
singular nouns, and those which imply plurality, to nouns in the plu- 
ral ; as, one hour ; three days; both houses ; all men. 

Obs. 1. — The adjective every is frequently joined to a plural noun 
used collectively to denote one aggregate ; as, "Every ten years." 

Obs. 2. — The word all is connected with singular nouns denoting 
quantity, and with plural nouns denoting number ; as, "All the corn 
was consumed ;" — "All things pass away." 

Obs. 3. — The adjective many is sometimes placed before a singular 
noun, the article a or an being inserted between them ; as, " Full many 
a gem of purest ray serene." 

What is the general rule for adjectives ? Examples. What rule is 
observed respecting the number of the adjectives this, that, these, and those ? 
Examples. What of adjectives which imply unity and plurality ? Exam- 
ples. 



; 



ADJECTIVES. KULE VIII. 141 

Rem. 4. — An adjective is sometimes used to qualify a phrase or 
sentence ; as, " To be blind is calamitous ;" — " That he should have 
refused the appointment, is extraordinary." 

Rem. 5. — An adjective is often used to qualify a noun and another 
adjective, taken as one compound term ; as, " A venerable old man ;" 
— " The best upland cotton." 

Rem. 6. — An adjective is sometimes used to modify the sense of 
another adjective ; as, "Red hot iron ;" — "Five hundred men." 

Rem. 7. — Either is occasionally employed by good writers in the 
sense of each. 

Examples : — " This merciless devastation extended more than 
two leagues on either side of the line of march." — Prescott. 
" The Sabine hills and the Albanian mountains stretch on either 
hand." — Irving. 

" On either side the giant guards divide." — Southey. 

Rem. 8. — When an adjective is employed to express a comparison 
between two objects only, or objects of two different classes, it should 
generally take the form of the comparative; as, " Homer was the 
greater genius ; Virgil the better artist." — Pope. "Our brig was 
the faster sailer of the two." — Willis. " William is taller than 
James;" — "William is the taller of the two;" — " George and 
John are more studious than James and Charles." 

Obs. — Sometimes, however, the superlative form is employed when 
only two objects are compared ; # as, " Of the two, the English system 
is the safest." — Humphrey. "The largest boat of the two was cut 
loose." — Cooper. " Both of these opinions have the sanction of high 
authority, and it may be worth while to examine which of them be 
wisest." — N. A. Review. " I think the English one rather the best of 
the two." — Lockhart. 

What besides nouns and pronouns, do adjectives sometimes qualify ? Ex- 
amples of each class. What is the general rule respecting an adjective used 
to express a comparison between two objects, or two classes of objects ? Ex- 
amples. What is the general rule respecting an adjective, used to express a 
comparison between more than two objects of the same class ? Examples. 

* " The strict rule laid down by grammarians, that the comparative is to 
be used when two things are spoken of, and the superlative when more than 
two are the subject of discourse, has not been observed, even by the best wri- 
ters, and still less by the best speakers, and need not now be insisted on." — 
Connon . 

" The superlative is often more agreeable to the ear ; nor is the sense in- 
iured. In many cases a strict adherence to the comparative form renders the 
language too stiff and formal." — Lennie. 

bee also Angus's Grammar and Campbell's Philosophy of Rhetoric. 



142 SYNTAX. — ADJECTIVES. 

Rem. 9. — When a comparison is expressed between more than 
two objects of the same class, the superlative degree is employed ; 
as, " The last of the Roman tribunes ;" — " The most ancient poet ;" 

— " The noblest of the Greeks." 

Rem. 10. — In the use of comparative and superlative adjectives, 
care should be taken not to include a noun or pronoun in a class to 
which it does not belong, nor exclude it from a class to which it 
does belong. Thus, it would be improper to say, " Socrates was 
wiser than any Athenian," because Socrates was himself an Athe- 
nian, and could not be wiser than himself. The correct form would 
be, " Socrates was wiser than any other Athenian," or " Socrates 
was the wisest of the Athenians." The following sentence is also 
erroneous : — " The vice of covetousness, of all others, enters deepest 
into the soul." Covetousness is not one of the other vices, as the 
construction of the sentence would imply. Corrected: — "Of all 
the vices, covetousness enters deepest into the soul." 

Correct Examples. 
"An aristocracy is, of all forms of government, the most tenacious 
of life, and the least flexible in its purposes." — Bancroft. " Time 
ought, above all other kinds of property, to be free from invasion." 

— Johnson. "Transcribing was, of all occupations, that which 
Cowper disliked the most." — Southey. 

False Syntax. 

" The high reputation which he afterwards obtained, came too late 
to gladden the heart which, of all others, would have most rejoiced 
in it." — Southey. "This kind of wit is that which abounds in 
Cowley, more than in any author that ever wrote." — Addison. 
" Breathing with ease, is a blessing of every moment ; yet, of all 
others, it is that which we possess with the least consciousness." — ■ 
Paley. " In the age of Elizabeth, England was more distinguished 
for patriotism than any nation in civilized Europe." — N. A. Review. 

Rem. 11. — Double comparatives and superlatives, as worser,most 

strait est, should be carefully avoided. 

Obs. — The word lesser is, however, sometimes employed by good 
writers ; as, " The lesser incidents." — JV. Y. Review. " Lesser sympa 

What care should be observed in the use of comparatives and superlatives ? 
Correct the false syntax, and show why it is false. What of double com- 
paratives and superlatives ? 



ARTICLES. 143 

thies." — Dana. " Of lesser note." — Goldsmith. " Fifty Zesser angels." 
— Pro/. Wilson. "Lesser graces." — ^/«zr. " Like Cesser streams." — 
Coleridge. 

Rem. 12. — An adjective is sometimes used to perform the office of 
an adverb; as, "Soft sighed the flute." — Thomson. This usage is 
mostly confined to the poets. 

Rem. 13. — An adjective may be used to express an attribute or 
quality which results from the action of the verb with which it is 
connected. Adjectives of this description relate both to the verb and 
the noun or pronoun, and may be called adverbial adjectives. 

Examples : "The door was painted green." — "'Heaven opened 
wide her ever-during gates," — Milton. " The exiles of a year 
had grown familiar with the favorite amusement of the Indians." 
— Bancroft. " Children just let loose from school." — Gold- 
smith. 

Rem. 14. — An adjective is sometimes used absolutely, having no 
direct reference to any noun or pronoun expressed or implied; as, 
" The desire of being happy reigns in all hearts ;" — " To be wise and 
good is to be great and noble" 

Rem. 15. — Nouns are sometimes used to perform the office of 
adjectives, as "A stone cistern," "A gold watch ;" and adjectiA^es to 
perform the office of nouns, as ■" The great and good of all ages." 



ARTICLES. 

Rem. 16. — The article a or an belongs to nouns of 
the singular number only, or to nouns denoting a plu- 
rality of objects in one aggregate ; as, U A house ;" — 
"An eagle ;" — U A million." 

Rem. 17. — The article the belongs to nouns either 
in the singular or plural number ; as, " The President ;" 
— " The Europeans." 

Rem. 18. — Articles are sometimes used to modify the sense of 
other adjectives ; as, "A few days ;" — "A thousand years ;" — "So 
much the stronger proved he." 

What is an adverbial adjective? Examples. Give examples of nouns 
used to supply the place of adjectives and adjectives used to supply the place 
of nouns. What is the rule for the agreement of the article a or an? 
Examples. 

13 



144 SYNTAX. — ARTICLES. 

Rem. 19. — The article the is sometimes used to modify the sense 
of an adverb ; as, " The longer you delay, the more your difficulties 
will increase.' ' 

Rem. 20. — When the article a or an is placed before the words few 
and little , it generally changes their meaning from negative to positive. 
Thus, when we say, " There were few persons present," the word few 
is used in a negative sense, in distinction from many, to denote the 
smallness of the number. But when we say, " There were a few per- 
sons present," the word few is used in a positive sense, in distinction 
from none, to denote that there were some persons present. The 
expressions, "He needs little aid" and "He needs a little aid," serve 
also to illustrate this remark. 

Rem. 21 When two nouns following a comparative refer to dif- 
ferent persons or things, the article should be repeated before the second 
noun ; but when the two nouns refer to the same person or thing, the 
article should not be repeated. Thus, in the sentence, " He is a better 
soldier than a scholar," the terms soldier and scholar relate properly to 
different individuals, and it is implied that he is a better soldier than 
a scholar would be. But, in the sentence, "He is a better soldier than 
scholar," the terms soldier and scholar are limited to one individual, and 
it is implied that he is better in the capacity of a soldier than in that 
of a scholar. 

Rem. 22. — When two or more adjectives standing in connection 
are used to describe different objects of the same name, the article 
should generally be placed before each of them ; as, " A red and a 
white flag;" that is, two flags, one red and the other white. But 
when no ambiguity is likely to arise from the omission of the article, 
its repetition is not essential. Thus we may say with equal propri- 
ety, " The fourteenth and the fifteenth century," or " The fourteenth 
and fifteenth centuries." 

Rem. 23. — When two or more adjectives are used to describe the 
same object, the article should generally be employed before the first 
only; as, "A red and white flag;" that is, one flag, both red and 
white. But when we wish to give particular prominence to each 
adjective, the article may be inserted before each, if no ambiguity 
would arise ; as, " The learned, the eloquent, the patriotic Chatham." 

Rem. 24. — A noun taken in its widest and most general sense, is 

Of the article the? Examples. What besides nouns, do articles some- 
times modify ? Examples of each class. What is the general rule respect- 
ing the article, when two or more adjectives standing in connection describe 
different objects of the same name ? Examples. JVhat exception to this 
rule ? Examples. What is the general rule, when two or more adjectives 
describe the same object 1 Examples. What exception ? Examples. 
What of a noun taken in its widest sense ? Examples. 



ADJECTIVES. POSITION. 145 

commonly used without an article ; as, "Man is mortal ;" — " Vice 
is odious ;" — "Iron is the most useful of the metals ;" — " He was 
called Master." 

Obs. — Sometimes, however, the article the is used with a singular 
noun to denote the whole species, or an indefinite portion of the spe- 
cies ; as, " The horse is a noble animal." 

Rem. 25. — The article is generally omitted before proper names and 
such other nouns as are of themselves sufficiently definite in their 
signification; as, " George Washington was born in the year 1732." 
— a To-day is yesterday returned." — Young. There are, however, 
some cases in which the use of the article before proper names, is 
admissible ; as, " The Pyrenees ;" — " The French ;" ~* " The Earth ;" 

— " The illustrious Franklin;" — "A Mr. "William Jones addressed 
the meeting." 

Rem. 26. — The letter a is sometimes employed by mercantile men 
in the sense of the preposition to;* as, Baltimore flour sold at $4,50 
a 84,58 ;" that is, "Baltimore flour sold at prices varying from $4,50 
to $4,58." 

Obs. — A appears also to have the force of a preposition in the fol- 
lowing and other similar examples : — " He set the public a reading." 

— Blackwood's Magazine. " There is some ill a brewing." — Shak- 
speare. In such expressions as, " Thomas a Becket," " Thomas a 
Kempis," a is employed in the sense of the preposition of. 

Rem. 27. — A is sometimes employed as a mere expletive prefix ; 
as, "I begin to be a-weary of thee." — Shakspeare. "Poor Tom's 
a-coldy — Ibid. 

Rem. 28. — An was formerly used as a conjunction, in the sense of 
if ; as, "Fortune is to be honored and respected, an it be but for her 
daughters, Confidence and Reputation." — Bacon. 

POSITION OF ADJECTIVES. 

Rem. 29. — Adjectives should be so placed as to show clearly 
which nouns they are intended to qualify. Thus, instead of saying, 
" This disconsolate soldier's widow," we should say, " This soldier's 
disconsolate widow." 

Obs. 1. — When an adjective is used to qualify another adjective 
and a noun, taken jointly, it should not be placed between the other 
adjective and the noun. Thus, in the expression, "An amiable 
young man," the word amiable qualifies the phrase young man; it 
would therefore be improper to say, "A young amiable man." 

What rule is to be observed respecting the position of adjectives ? Illus- 
trate. What rule is to be observed respecting an adjective used to qualify 
another adjective and a noun ? Illustrate. 

* " This I take to be a relic of the Norman French, which was once the 
law and mercantile language of England ; for, in French, a, with an accent, 
means to or at. ,} — Cobbett. 



146 SYNTAX. ADJECTIVES. 

Obs. 2. — The adjective generally precedes the noun to which it be- 
longs j as, "A patriotic citizen." But in the following cases the ad- 
jective most commonly follows the noun: — 1. When some word or 
phrase is dependent on the adjective ; as, " The knowledge requisite 
for a statesman ;" — " A river twenty yards wide" 2. When the ad- 
jective is used as a title; as, "Alfred the Great;" — " George the 
Fourth." 3. When the quality expressed by the adjective is depen- 
dent on the action of a transitive verb ; as, " Vanity often renders 
man contemptible" 

Obs. 3. — When an adjective is qualified by an adverb, it is some- 
times placed before the noun and sometimes after it ; as, "A very good 
man ;" — "A man conscientiously exact." 

Obs. 4. — When a verb comes between an adjective and its noun, 
the adjective may either precede or follow the noun ; as, " Great is our 
God ;" — " Gaming is ruinous." 

"How vain the ardor of the crowd, 
How low, how little are the proud, 
How indigent the great ! " — Gray. 

Obs. 5. — When several adjectives belong to one noun, they may 
either precede or follow the noun ; as, "A learned, wise, and amiable 
man," or, " A man learned, wise, and amiable" The longest adjective is 
usually placed last. 

Obs. 6. — An adjective relating to a pronoun is generally placed 
after the pronoun ; as, " He is faithful and kind." 

Obs. 7. — When a noun is preceded by an article in connection with 
one or more other adjectives, the article is generally placed first ; as, 
u A great and good man." But when the words many, such, both, all, 
and what, are employed, they generally precede the article ; as, " Many 
a day ;" — " Such a favor ;" — u Both the trees." The article is also 
placed after adjectives which are modified by as, so, how, and however ; 
as, "How great a work." 

Obs. 8. — Some grammarians object to the use of the numerals, two, 
three, four, etc., before the adjectives first and last. There seems, 
however, to be no good reason for the objection, # and the expressions 
two first, three last, etc., are fully sanctioned by good usage. 

Wliat is said of the use of numerals before the adjectives first and last ? 
Examples. 

* " It has been fashionable of late to write the first three, and so on, in- 
stead of the three first. People write in this way to avoid the seeming ab- 
surdity of implying that more than one thing can be the first; but it is, at 
least, equally absurd, to talk about the first four, when (as often happens) 
there is no second four." — Arnold. 

" Surely, if there can be only ' one last,' ' one first, 5 there can be only ( a 
last one,' a ' first one.' I need only observe, that usage is decidedly in favor 
of the former phraseology." — Grant. 

The following remarks respecting this question, are extracted from a paper 
read by Dr. Murdock before the New Haven Academy of Sciences : 

" The only argument against the use of two first, and in favor of substi- 



ADJECTIVES. — EXERCISES. 147 

Examples : — " My two last letters." — Addison. " The two first lines 
are uncommonly beautiful." — Blair. " At the two last schools." 
— Johnson. " The three first generations." — E. Everett. " The 
two first years." — Bancroft. " The two first days." — Irving. " The 
two first cantos." — J.. iJ. Everett. " The /cwr /?rsi? centuries." — 
Prescott. "The *w;o 7tfs£ productions." — IV*. JL Review. "The 
/flw /rs£ are altogether and unequivocally poetical." — Cheever. 
" The ZAree /r5? of 'his longer poems." — Southey. 

Obs. 9, — The expressions first three, last two, etc., are also in 
good use, and, in some cases, are to be preferred. 

Examples: — "The first eighteen years." — N. A. Review. "The 
history of the world for the last fifty years." — E. Everett. " Dur- 
ing the last seven or eight years." — Brougham. 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 

Write sentences containing examples of descriptive and definitive 
adjectives; — containing an adjective 4hat qualifies a sentence or 
phrase; — an adjective that qualifies a noun and another adjective, 
taken as one compound term ; — an adjective expressing a comparison 
between two objects only ; — one expressing a comparison between more 
than two objects ; — an adverbial adjective ; — a noun used to perform 
the office of an adjective, and an adjective used to perform the office of 
a noun ; — examples of the articles ; — one or more examples illustrat- 
ing Rem. 22nd; — Rem. 23rd; — Rem. 24th. 

What other form is also employed ? Examples. 

tuting first two, so far as I can recollect, is this. In the nature of things, 
* there can be only one first and one last, in any series of things. But is it 
true, that there can never be more than one first, and one last? If it be so, 
then the adjectives first and last must always be of the singular number, and 
can never agree with nouns in the plural. We are told that the first years 
of a lawyer's practice are seldom very lucrative. The poet tells us, that his 
first essays were severely handled by the critics, but his last efforts have 
been well received. Examples like these might be produced without num- 
ber. They occur everywhere in all our standard writers. * * * When a 
numeral adjective and "a qualifying epithet both refer to the same noun, the 
general rule of the English language is to place the numeral first, then the 
qualifying epithet, and afterwards the noun. Thus we say, 'the two wise 
men,' "'the two tall men;' and not, 'the wise two men,' c the tall two men.' 
And the same rule holds in superlatives. We say, ' the two wisest men,' 
'the two tallest men ;' and not, 'the wisest two men,' 'the tallest two men.' 
Now if this be admitted to be the general rule of the English language, then 
it follows, that generally we should say, 'the two first? 'the two last,' etc., 
rather than, 'the first two? 'the last two? etc. This I say should generally 
be the order of the words. Yet there are some cases in which it seems pre- 
ferable to say, ' the first two? ' the first three? etc." 

13* 



148 SYNTAX. EXERCISES. 

EXERCISES IN PARSING. 
Model. 
"The country abounds in excellent fruit." 

The is an article. This title is applied to the definite adjectives a or 
an, and the.-- It is definite, because it indicates some particular 
object 5 — and belongs to country. Adjectives belong to the nouns 
or pronouns which they qualify or define. 

Excellent is an adjective, because it is joined to a noun to qualify or 
define its meaning ; — descriptive, because it expresses some 
quality of the noun fruit ; — in the positive degree, because it ex- 
presses the simple state of the quality. Positive, excellent ; com- 
parative, more excellent ; superlative, most excellent. — It belongs to 
fruit. Adjectives belong to the nouns or pronouns which they 
qualify or define. 

"Wise men." — "i virtuous life." — "Rural scenery is always 
interesting." — "Are these things so ?" — " The noblest spirits some- 
times grow up in the obscurest spheres." — "More agreeable conver- 
sation . " — "An able statesman . " — " The rose is sweet . " — " Our 
highest interests." — "All hope was lost." — "Time is so swift of 
foot that none can overtake it ." — "Modesty is one of the greatest 
ornaments of youth." — " Our good or bad fortune depends greatly 
on the choice we make of our friends." 



"Men grew old in camps, and acquired the highest renown by their 
warlike achievements, without being once required to face serious 
danger." — Macaulay. "Any one can conquer his passions, who 
calls in the aid of religion." — Crabb. "Every nine days mast have 
its wonder, no matter of what kind." — Irving. " We have the 
rather availed ourselves of this testimony of a foreign critic in behalf 
of Shakspeare, because our own countryman, Dr. Johnson, has not 
been so favorable to him . " — Hazlitt . " I made the greater progress . ' ' 

— Franklin. "A. century is a period of a hundred years/' — 
" Rectitude in all its branches, is the supreme good." — Channing. 
" The purest clay is that which burns white." — " The door was red 
hot. ' ' — Dickens. ' * That mind and body often sympathize, is plain.' . 

— Jenyns. " The two last qualities are indeed so common in all the 
poetry of his nation, that we need scarcely enlarge upon the phrase 
as belonging peculiarly to him." — J". G. Lockhart. " Without fru- 
gality, none can be rich; and with it, very few would be poor." — 
Johnson. 



VERBS. AGREEMENT. 149 

l Man often clouds with vain or fancied ills, 
His narrow span, when Nature 1 s stainless light 
Dispenses only happiness, and fills 
The world with things so beautiful and bright. 
Her plains, her mountains, and her valleys, teem 
With living verdure in the fairest dress ; 
And ocean, river, lake, and singing stream, 
Combine to harmonize her loveliness." — W. C. Lodge. 

Rule IX. — Verbs. — Agreement. 
A verb must agree with its nominative in number 
and person; as, "I go;" — "Thou seest ;" — "He 
hears." 

False Syntax. 

" The singular admixture of serious faults which call for severe 
criticism, with great merits which excite our warmest admiration, 
render our task one of unusual perplexity." — Westminster Review. 
" He was forced to account for it by one of the most absurd, unphi- 
losophical notions that was ever started." — Addison. "They 
dwelt with a contented fondness on the scenes amidst which they had 
been born and nurtured, with a purity and exultation of feeling 
which powerfully captivates the heart." — N. A. Review. 

" A few brief summer days, and thou 
No more amid these haunts shall glide." — Bernard Barton. 

" What art thou, speak, that on designs unknown, 
While others sleep, thus range the camp alone?" — Pope. 

Rem. 1. — When a verb is placed between two nominatives of 
different numbers or persons, it should generally be made to agree 
with that w T hich precedes it; as, " His meat ivas locusts and wild 
honey ;" — u Thou art the man." But when the verb is followed 
by the direct and principal subject, it should be made to agree with 
the latter nominative ; as, " Who art thou?" — " What are we?" 

"What is the rule respecting the agreement of verbs? Examples. 
Correct the false syntax, and shorn why it is false. What of a verb placed 
between two nominatives of different numbers or persons? Examples. 



150 SYNTAX. — VERBS. 

COLLECTIVE NOUNS. 

Rem. 2. — The singular form of a collective noun, may have a 
verb agreeing with it either in the singular or plural number ; as, 
" The nation is powerful ;" — " The assembly were divided in their* 
opinions." 

Obs. — No definite rule can be given to decide, in all cases, which 
number should be employed to agree with a collective noun. When 
the noun most naturally suggests the idea of unity, the verb should 
be singular ; but when the noun conveys the idea of plurality, the 
verb should be plural. In modern usage, the plural form is most 
frequently employed. 

Rem. 3. — The transitive verbs need and want are sometimes 
employed in a general sense, without a nominative, expressed or 
implied. # 

Examples : — " There needed a new dispensation of religion for the 
moral reform of society." — Caleb Cushing. "There needs no 
better picture of his destitute and piteous situation, than that 
furnished by the homely pen of the chronicler." — Irving. 
11 Wheresoever the case of the opinions came in agitation, 
there wanted not patrons to stand up to plead for them." — 
Sparksh Am. Biog. 

u Nor did there want, 
Cornice, or frieze, with bossy sculptures graven." — Milton. 
Rem. 4. — A verb in the imperative is sometimes used absolutely, 
having no direct reference to any particular subject expressed or 
implied, f 

Examples : , — " And G-od said, l Let there be light ;' and there was 
light." — Gen. 1 : 3. 

" * I 've lost a day/ — the prince who nobly cried, 
Had been an emperor without his crown, — 
Of Rome? — say, rather, lord of human race." — Young. 

Rule X. — Verbs. — Agreement. 
When two or more nominatives denoting different 
objects are taken conjointly, forming one common sub- 

What is said respecting the agreement of a verb with a collective noun ? 
Examples. How are we to be governed in deciding which number should 
be employed to agree with a collective noun ? What is the rule respecting 
the agreement of a verb with two or more nominatives denoting differ- 
ent objects, taken conjointly? Examples. 

* See Webster, Perley and Ingersoll. 

t See Prazee, Allen and Comwell, Nutting, Lynde and Chapin. 



VERBS. AGREEMENT. RULE X. 151 

ject, the verb agreeing with them should be in the 
plural number ; as, " Socrates and Plato were eminent 
philosophers ;" — " The air, the earth, the water, teem 
with delighted existence." 

False Syntax. 
" When the desire of pleasing and willingness to be pleased is 
silently diminished, the renovation of friendship is hopeless.'' — John- 
son. " The stamp and denomination still continues, but the intrinsic 
value is frequently lost." — Addison. 

Kem. 1. — When two or more nominatives are thus employed, they 
are generally connected by the conjunction and, expressed or under- 
stood. 

Kem. 2. — A singular nominative and an objective after with, are 
sometimes made to form the joint subject of a plural verb ; as, " Pha- 
raoh with all his host, were drowned in the Red Sea." This copula- 
tive use of with is occasionally adopted by good writers, but it would 
be better, in most cases, either to put and in the place of with or to 
employ the singular form of the verb. # Thus, instead of saying, 
"This noble ship with her gallant crew were buried beneath the 
waves," it would be more correct to say, " This noble ship and her 
gallant crew were buried beneath the waves." So also, " This brave 
officer with a company of only fifty men, have succeeded in quelling 
the insurrection," would be better expressed by saying, " This brave 
officer, with a company of only fifty men, has succeeded in quelling the 
insurrection." 

Examples : — " This principle, with others of the same kind, sup- 
poses man to act from a brute impulse." — Johnson. " He him- 
self, with others, was lakenP — Bancroft. "A body Of two 
thousand men succeeded in surprising the quarters of the 
marquis of Cadiz, who, with his followers, was exhausted by 
fatigue and watching." — Prescott. 

Rem. 3. — When two or more singular nominatives denoting the 
same object are taken conjointly, the verb agreeing with them must 

Correct the false syntax, and show why it is false. When two or more 
singular nominatives denoting the same object, are taken conjointly, in what 
number must the verb be ? Examples. 

* The use of a plural verb to agree with a singular nominative and an ob- 
jective after with, is sanctioned by Priestley, Grant, Milligan, Cobbett, Lewis, 
Lennie, Hort, Del Mar, and Simmonite ; and condemned by G. Brown, Mur- 
ray, Sanborn, Kirkham, Picket, Hiley, Meilan, Hazlitt, and Latham. 

11 This phraseology, though not strictly consonant with the rules of concord, 
frequently obtains, both in ancient and modern languages. In some cases 
indeed it seems preferable to the syntactical form of expression." — Dr. 
Crombie. 



152 SYNTAX. VERBS. — RULE XI. 

be singular; as, "This renowned patriot and statesman has retired 
to private life." 

Eule XI. — Verbs. — Agreement. 
When two or more singular nominatives are so con- 
nected that the verb agrees with each subject separately, 
or with one of them to the exclusion of the others, the 
verb should be in the singular number. 

Examples : — " Duty, and not interest, was his constant rule of 
action ;" — " Nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain, breaks the serene 
of heaven ;" — "Neither Astrology, nor Alchemy deserves the 
name of a science ;" — "In every tribe, superstition, or grati- 
tude, or fortune, has exalted a particular family j — " Caesar, as 
well as Cicero, was remarkable for his eloquence j" — " Thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory." 
" Every tongue and every eye 
Does homage to the passer by." 

False Syntax. 
" Neither romantic fancy, nor extreme pathos, nor sublimity of the 
very first order, are discoverable in Pope." — Edinburgh Review. 
" The most trifling occasion, a transient scarcity of flesh or lentils, 
the neglect of an accustomed salutation, a mistake of precedency in 
the public baths, or even a religious dispute, were at any time suffi- 
cient to kindle a sedition." — Gibbon. 

" Danger, long travel, want, or woe, 
Soon change the form that best we know." — Scott. 
Rem. 1. — When a singular and a plural nominative are connected 
by or or nor, the verb should generally be in the plural ; and, when 
the harmony of the sentence admits of it, the plural nominative should 
be placed next to the verb; as, " Neither poverty nor riches were 
injurious to him." 

Rem. 2. — When two or more nominatives of different persons are 

What is the rule respecting two or more singular nominatives so con- 
nected that the verb agrees with each separately, or with one to the 
exclusion of the others? Examples. Correct the false syntax, and show 
why it is false. What is the rule respecting a singular and a plural nomi- 
native, connected by or or nor ? Examples. Respecting two or more nom- 
inatives of different persons, connected by or or nor ? Examples. 



VERBS. — AGREEMENT. RULE XI. 153 

connected by or or nor, the verb is often made to agree with the 
nearest nominative ; as, " Either you or I am in fault." But it would 
generally be better to express the verb in connection with each nomi- 
native, unless the different persons of the verb agree in form ; as, 
" Either you are in fault, or I am." 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 
Write exercises containing a verb that agrees with a singular nom- 
inative ; — a plural nominative ; — a nominative in the first person ; — 
one in the second ; — one in the third ; — a verb agreeing with a col- 
lective noun ; - — a verb agreeing with two or more nominatives denot- 
ing different objects taken conjointly ; — several different examples, 
illustrating Rule 1 1th ; — a verb agreeing with a singular and a plural 
nominative, connected by or or nor ; — a verb agreeing with two or 
more nominatives of different persons. 

EXERCISES IN PARSING. 
Model. 
" I saio the sun sinking behind the hills." 

Saw is a verb, because it expresses an assertion or affirmation ; — 
irregular, because it does not form its past tense and perfect par- 
ticiple by adding d or ed to the present ; — see, saw, seen ; — it is a 
transitive verb, in the active voice, because it governs the object 
sun ; — in the indicative mode, because it expresses a declaration ; 
— in the past tense, because it denotes indefinite past time ; — in 
the first person singular, to agree with its nominative I. A verb 
must agree with its nominative in number and person. 

Sinking is a participle, because it is a mode of the verb which par- 
takes of the properties of the verb and the adjective ; — sink, sunk, 
sunk ; — imperfect, because it denotes the continuance of the 
action ; — intransitive, because it does not have a noun or pronoun 
for its object; — and belongs to sun. Participles relate to nouns 
or pronouns. 

1 ' I will obey. " — " He has returned. ' ' — " It is lost. " — " Strive to 
' improve." — " The multitude pursue pleasure." — " Time and tide 

wait for no man." — " The intellect, and not the heart is concerned." — 
I " Neither the time nor the place was known." — " The origin of the 

city and state of Rome is involved in great uncertainty." 



" In civilized life, where the happiness, and indeed almost the exist- 
ence of man, depends so much upon the opinion of his fellow men, he 
is constantly acting a studied part." — Irving. " That great critic 



154 SYNTAX. VERES. RULE XII. 

and philosopher endeavors to palliate this imperfection in the Greek 
poet." —Addison. " This, and this alone, constitutes the worth and 
importance of the sacrifice. ' ' — Channing. ' ' A shady grove, a green 
pasture, a stream of fresh water, are sufficient to attract a colony of 
sedentary Arabs." — Gibbon. u Africa, as well as Gaul, was gradu- 
ally fashioned to the imitation of the capital." — Ibid. 

" Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green, 
That host with their banners, at sunset were seen." — Byron. 

" The almost unobserved advancement and diffusion of knowledge 
were paving the way for discoveries." — Mackintosh. " The iron, as 
well as the wood, was taken from the wreck of the same ship." — 
Southey. " It has been frequently observed by writers on physiog- 
nomy, that every emotion and every operation of the mind has a 
corresponding expression of the countenance." — Dugald Stewart. 

Eule XII. — Verbs. — Government. 

Transitive verbs govern the objective case; as, "I 

have heard him, ;" — u Honor thy father and thy mother" 

Rem. 1. — A verb in the infinitive, a sentence, or a phrase, often sup- 
plies the place of a noun or pronoun in the objective case ; as, " You 
see how few of these men have returned P 

Rem. 2. — An intransitive verb may be used to govern an objec- 
tive, when the verb and the noun depending upon it are of kindred 
signification ; as, " To live a blameless life;" — " To run a race." 

Obs. — Idiomatic expressions sometimes occur in which intransitive 
verbs are followed by objectives depending upon them ; as, " Perhaps 
we have wanted the spirit, and manliness, to look the subject fully in the 
face." — Channing. " They laughed him to scorn." — Matt. 9 : 24. 
" "We have stopped a moment to breathe our horses." — Longfellow. 
u The broken soldier, kindly bid to stay, 
Sat by the fire, and taWd the night away." — Goldsmith. 

Rem. 3. — Transitive verbs of asking, giving, teaching, and some 
others, are often employed to govern two objectives ;* as, " Ask him 

What is the rule respecting transitive verbs ? Examples. What of 
an intransitive verb followed by a noun of kindred signification ? Exam- 
ples. Transitive verbs of asking, teaching, etc. ? Examples. 

* Many grammarians supply a preposition to govern one of the objectives 
following this class of verbs, but such a mode of parsing is, in many cases, 
arbitrary, and does violence to an important and well established idiom of the 
language. In the expressions, " Teach them to obey the laws," and " Teach 



VERBS. GOVERNMENT. RULE XII. 155 

his opinion.' 91 — " This experience taught me a valuable lesson.'' 1 — 
" Spare me yet this bitter cup. 11 — Hemans. " I thrice presented him 
a kingly crown. 11 — Shakspeare. 

Rem. 4. — Verbs of asking, giving, teaching, and some others, are 
often employed in the passive voice to govern a noun or pronoun in 
the objective. 

Examples: — "He was asked his opinion.'' 1 — Johnson. " The pupil, 
in more advanced life, i$ taught the science in its strictly logical 
form." — IV. A. Review. "He was denied admission to the most 
important public repositories." — Prescott. "lie, had been refused 
shelter.' 1 — Irving. " They were denied the indulgence." — Macau- 
lay. u They have been denied every ennobling institution. 11 — Chan- 
ning. " Am I to be asked such a question ? " — Cooper. 
Obs. — This form of expression is anomalous, and might, in many 
cases, be improved.* Thus, instead of saying, " He was offered a seat 
in the council/' it would be preferable to say, " A seat in the council 
was offered [to] him." 

Rem. 5. — The passive voice of a verb is sometimes used in connec- 
tion with a preposition, forming a compound passive verb. 

Examples : — " He was listened to without a murmur." — A. H. Everett. 
u Nor is this enterprise to be scoffed at. 11 — Channing. " This is a 
tendency to be guarded against.' 1 — Foley. u A bitter persecution 
was carried on." — Hallam. 
Rem. 6. — Idiomatic expressions sometimes occur in which a noun 
in the objective is preceded by a passive verb, and followed by a prep- 
osition used adverbially. 

How are verbs of asking, teaching, etc., often employed in the passive 
voice ? Examples. 

i them obedience to the laws," it is manifest that the grammatical influence of 
the verb teach upon the pronoun them, is the same in both examples. Why 

! then parse the word them as governed by the verb in one example, and in the 
other by a proposition understood? 

The rule for the government of two objectives by a verb, without the aid 
of a preposition, is adopted by Webster, Murray, Alexander, Frazee, Nutting, 

I Perlev, Goldsbury, J. M. Putnam, Hamlin, Flower, Crane, Brace, Green- 

. leaf, C. Alexander, Burr, Cornell, and many others. 

* G. Brown, Sanborn, Murray, Wright, and several other grammarians 
condemn this usage altogether ; while, on the other hand, it has the sanction 

j of a still larger class of authors, including Dr. Crombie, Flower, D'Orsey, 

,' Crane, Frazee, R. C. Smith, Emmons, Hamlin, Lennie, Ainsworth, Arnold, 
and Nutting. 

" Examples of the application of this rule are furnished by the best wri- 

1 ters. Phrases such as these, — ' She was asked the question, 5 ' She was 
taught her lesson,' ' They were offered a pardon,' ■ They were denied their 

i request,' etc., are of frequent occurrence ; and it seems better, after the ex- 
ample of the Latin, to provide for them by a special rule, than to condemn 
them as inaccuracies." — Pond's Murray. 

14 



156 SYNTAX.' — VERBS. RULE XII. 

Examples : — " Vocal and instrumental music were made use of." — 
Addison. " The third, fourth, and fifth, were taken possession of at 
half past eight." — Southey. " The Pinta was soon lost sight of in 
the darkness of the night." — Irving. "It ought never to be lost 
sight of." — N. A. Review. 
Obs. — This idiom is anomalous ; but it has the sanction of many- 
good writers, and is therefore shielded from the unqualified condemna- 
tion of the critic. It would, however, generally be better to avoid it. 
Rem. 7. — There are some verbs which may be used either transi- 
tively or intransitively ; as, " He will return in a few days ;" " He will 
return the book ;" — " The wind blows violently •" " The wind blows the 
chaff." 

Rem. 8. — The verb learn is often improperly used for teach ; as, " It 
is of little utility to learn scholars that certain words are signs of cer- 
tain modes and Jenses." Insert teach in the place of learn. 

Rem. 9. — The verbs lay and set should not be confounded with lie 
and sit. Lay is properly transitive ; lie, intransitive. Set, is either 
transitive or intransitive ; sit, always intransitive. See the principal 
parts of these verbs, in the list of irregular verbs, pp. 109, 110. 

Correct Examples. 

" He fasted and lay in sackcloth." — 1 Kings, &1 : 27. " He laid 
his robe from him." — Jonah, 3:6. "I have sat for hours at my 
window." — Irving. " Thou hast set a bound that they may not 
pass over." — Ps. 104 : 9. " They have forsaken my law which I 
set before them." — Jer. 9 : 13. " We say, a thing lies by us until 
we bring it into use ; we lay it by for some future purpose ; we lie 
down in order to repose ourselves ; we lay money down by way of 
deposit." — Crabb. 

False Syntax. 

' ' My old friend sat himself down in the chair. ' ' — Addison. ' ' The 
mate of a British vessel then laying at anchor in Boston harbor." — 
Sparks' s Am. Biog. 

" Even now, where Alpine solitudes ascend, 
I sit me down a pensive hour to spend." — Goldsmith. 

" For him through hostile camps 1 bend my way, 
For him thus prostrate at thy feet I lay." — Pope. 

Rem. 11. — A verb in the infinitive is often preceded by a noun or 

Wliat of the verbs lay and set ? Correct the false syntax, and show why 
it is false. 



VERBS. — GOVERNMENT. — RULE XII. 157 

pronoun in the objective, which has no direct dependence on any other 

word. * 

Examples : — " One error is that of concluding the things in ques- 
tion to be alike." — Whately. " Columbus ordered a strong for- 
tress of wood and plaster to be erected." — Irving. " Its favors 
here should make us tremble." — Young. 

Rem. 11. — Idiomatic expressions sometimes occur, in which the ac- 
tive form of a transitive verb is used in a sense nearly allied to the 
passive ; as, " The goods sell rapidly j" — " The cloth tears ;" — " Ma- 
hogany planes smooth j" — " These lines read well." 

Rem. 12. — The imperfect participle of a transitive verb is some- 
times employed in a passive sense, f 

Examples : — " The spot where this new and strange tragedy was 
acting." — E. Everett. " An attempt is making in the English 
Parliament to provide by law for the education of the poor." — 
Daniel Webster. " The fortress was building." — Irving. " The 
fame of the Portuguese discoveries, and of the expeditions fitting 
out, drew the attention of the world." — Ibid. " We must pass 
to a rapid notice of the magnificent church, now erecting in the 
city of New. York." — N. A. Review. "While this necessary 
movement was making" — Cooper. " While these things were 
transacting in England." — Bancroft. 

What peculiar use is sometimes made of the imperfect participle of a tran- 
sitive verb ? Examples. 

* " The infinitive has sometimes a subject in the objective case; as, ' I believe 
him to be an honest man ;' — ( He commanded the horse to be saddled ;' — 'I 
confess myself to be in fault ;' — 'Let him be punished.' Him, in the first 
sentence quoted, is not the object of the verb believe, but the subject of to be. 
In the second sentence, horse is not the object of command ; — it is not meant 
that a command was given to the horse." — Butler. 

" The agent to a verb in the infinitive mode must be in the objective case." 
— Nutting. 

t Different opinions have long existed among critics respecting this pas- 
sive use of the imperfect participle. Many respectable writers substitute the 
compound passive participle ; as, " The house is being' built;" " The book is 
being printed." But the prevailing practice of the best authors is in favor 
of the simple form ; as, " The house is building." 

" The propriety of these imperfect passive tenses has been doubted by al- 
most all our grammarians ; though I believe but few of them have written 
many pages without condescending to make use of them. Dr. Beattie says, 
1 One of the greatest defects of the English tongue, with regard to the verb, 
seems to be the want of an imperfect passive participle.' And yet he uses the 
imperfect participle in a passive sense as often as most writers." — Pickbourrts 
Dissertation on the English verb. 

" Several other expressions of this sort now and then occur, such as the 
new-fangled and most uncouth solecism, - is being done,' for the good old 
English idiomatic expression 'is doing,'— an absurd periphrasis driving out 
a pointed and pithy turn of the English language." — N. A. Review. 



158 SYNTAX. VERBS. RULES XIII., XIV. 

Rem. 14. — When the objective has the same form as the nomina- 
tive, it should generally follow the verb that governs it j but when the 
objective differs in form from the nominative, it may either precede 
or follow the governing verb ; as, " Caesar conquered the Britons ;" — 
"We have seen himf' — " Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly worship, 
him declare I unto you." 

Rule XIII. — Same Case. 

Intransitive and passive verbs have the same case 

after them as before them, when both words refer to 

the same person or thing; as, " Society is the true 

sphere of human virtue ;•" — " They wished him to be 

their king;" — "He soon became the leader of his 

party ;" — u He was chosen librarian f } — "Horner has 

been styled the prince of poets.'' 1 

Rem. — In some instances the words so agreeing in case are both 
placed either before or after the verb ; as, " Are they friends ?" — 
" Friends they camiot be." 

Rule XIV. — Government of the Infinitive. 

The infinitive mode may be governed by a verb, a 
noun, or an adjective;^ as, "Strive to improve;" — 
" I am in haste to return ;" — " The ship was ready to 
sail" 

Rem. 1. — The infinitive is often governed by than or as. The 
following are examples : — "An object so high as to be invisible f — 
" It is sometimes better to submit to injustice, than to resort to judi- 
cial proceeding." 

What is the rule respecting the same, case ? Examples. - Respect- 
ing the government of the infinitive ? Examples. What conjunctions 
are frequently employed to govern the infinitive ? Examples. 

* Several respectable grammarians treat the infinitive particle to as a. pre- 
position, governing the verb. See Comly, G. Brown, Bell, Snyder, and 
Fowle. 

"If to is here a preposition, it differs at least in one respect, from every 
other English preposition, and from the same word in other situations, in 
giving entire generality to the verb, — an effect which no preposition, as 
such, ever has, either on the verb, or any other part of speech. That it should 
assume this peculiarity in this particular connection only, is remarkable; 
and that it should do this and at the same time retain the usual properties 
of a preposition, seems very improbable." — Everett. 



VERBS. — TENSES. RULE XV. 159 

Rem. 2. — The infinitive is sometimes governed by a preposition ; 
as, " The shipmen were about to flee." 

Rem. 3. — The infinitive is sometimes governed by a phrase or a 
sentence ; as, " Too needy ever to have leisure for attempting to execute 
any great and worthy design." — Southeij. 

" In age, in infancy, from others' aid 
Is all our hope, to teach us to be kind." — Young. 

Rem. 4. — The infinitive is sometimes used absolutely, having no 
dependence on any other word ; as, " It was, so to speak, a branch 
of the Executive Power." — N. Y. Review. 

Rem. 5. — A verb in the infinitive usually relates to some noun or 
pronoun.* Thus, in the sentence, " He desires to improve," the 
verb to improve relates to the pronoun he while it is governed by 
desires. 

Rem. 6. — When the infinitive follows the active 

voice of the verbs, bid, dare, feel, see, let, make, need, 

and hear, the sign to is usually omitted ; as, "I felt my 

strength return ;" — " Nothing need be said;" — " We 

heard the thunder roll;" — " Pride guides his steps, 

and bids him shun the great." 

Rem. 7. — The sign of the infinitive is also omitted, in some instan- 
ces, after the verbs have, behold, perceive, know, and help ; as ; " Would 
they have us reject such an offer?" 

Rule XV. — Tenses. 
In the use of verbs, those tenses should be employed 
which express correctly the sense intended. 

Rem. 1. — This rule is somewhat indefinite, but w T hen taken in 

What of infinitives having no dependence on other words 1 Examples. 
To what do infinitives relate ? Examples. After what verbs is the sign 
of the infinitive usually omitted ? Examples. Give the rule for the 
employment of tenses. Illustrate its application. 

* Some teachers pay little attention to the government of the infinitive, 
while they direct their pupils to point out in all"" cases the noun or pronoun to 
which it relates. Others require their pupils. to designate both government 
and relation. See Sanborn's Grammar, p. 144. 

" An infinitive refers to the noun which is the agent or subject of the action 
expressed by the infinitive. The reference is precisely of the same nature as 
that of a participle to its substantive, or of a finite verb to its nominative." — 
Parkhurst. 

14* 



160 SYNTAX. —VERBS. RULE XV. 

connection with the definitions and illustrations of the tenses given 
under Etymology, it will, in most cases, be a sufficient guide to the 
learner. It is violated in the following example : — "I expected to 
have seen you." The verb to have seen cannot here relate to a time 
prior to that denoted by the verb expected. It should not therefore be 
in the past perfect tense. Corrected : — " I expected to see you." 

False Syntax, 

" When I was in France, I have often observed, that a great man 
has grown so insensibly heated by the court which was paid him on 
all sides, that he has been quite distracted." — Steele. " Columbus 
had fondly hoped, at one time, to have rendered the natives civilized, 
industrious, and tributary subjects of the crown." — Irving. "As 
Dr. Wallis hath long ago observed." — Lowth. "They continue 
with me now three days." — Matt. 15 : 32. 

Rem. 2. — The present tense is often employed in expressions that 
relate to the future; as, " The world to come;" — "He leaves in 
half an hour ;" — " I am about to write." 

Obs. — When a finite verb in the present tense, occurs in a sentence 
denoting futurity, it is generally preceded by before, as soon as, when, till, 
or after ; or accompanied by an adverb or modifying phrase denoting 
future time j as, "When the mail arrives, the letters will be delivered ;" 
— " Hold you the watch to-night V " We do rny lord ;" — " Ring the 
bell, at a quarter before eight" 

Rem. 3. — When the infinitive present is connected with another 
verb, it generally relates to the same time as the verb with which it 
is joined; as, "He began to write;" — "He will begin to write." 
In the first of these examples to write corresponds in time with began , 
and is therefore past in respect to the time of speaking. In the other 
example, it relates to the same time that is expressed by will begin. 

Obs. — Sometimes, however, the infinitive denotes time subsequent to 
that expressed by the verb with which it is connected ; as, " He is to 
engage in teaching;" — " iEneas went in search of an empire which 
was one day to command the world." 

Rem. 4. — In animated narrations, the present tense is occasionally 
used for the past ; as, " After the lapse of eight precious days, they 
again weigh anchor ; the coast of England recedes ; already the}' are 

Correct the false syntax, and sho?v why it is false. Give examples of 
verbs in the present tense, used in expressions that relate to the future. 
What of the infinitive present, used in connection with other verbs? Illus- 
trate. 



VERBS. TENSES. RULE XV. 161 

unfurling their sails on the broad ocean, when the captain of the Speed- 
well, with his company, dismayed at the dangers of the enterprise, once 
more pretends that his ship is too weak for the service." — Bancroft. 

Rem. d. — The future tense is frequently employed for the future 
perfect; as, " I shall finish my letter before the mail closes." 

Rem. 6. — When a verb in the present perfect tense is preceded by 
before, as soon as, when, till, or after, it usually performs the office of the 
future perfect ; as, "When he has finished his engagement, he shall be 
rewarded." 

Rem. 7. — The hypothetical form of the verb to be is used to express 
either present or indefinite time ; as, " If he were present, he would 
convince you of your error." See p. 96. 

Oes. — The past subjunctive of other verbs is often employed in a 
similar manner ; as, " If he regarded his own interest, he would be 
more faithful to his employer." 

Rem. 8. — The past perfect subjunctive is often employed to express 
indefinite past time ; as, " I should have walked out, if it had not 
rained" 

Rem. 9. — In expressing general propositions which have no direct 
relation to time, the present tense of the verb should be employed ; 
as, " The passion for power and superiority is universal." — Chan- 
ning. 

Rem. 10. — The perfect participle of an irregular verb should not 
be used for the past tense, nor the past tense for the perfect participle. 
The following expressions are therefore incorrect : — " The storm 
begun to subside ;" — "I done it in great haste ;" — " He was dis- 
pleased to receive a letter wrote with so little care." Corrected : — 
" The storm began to subside ;" — "I did it in great haste ;" — " He 
was displeased to receive a letter written with so little care." This 
rule is also violated when the past tense of an irregular verb is used 
with an auxiliary. Thus, instead of saying, " The sun has rose" 
we should say, " The sun km risen." 

False Syntax. 
" We are not condemned to toil through half a folio, to be con- 
vinced that the writer has broke his promise." — Johnson. "The 
champions having just began their career, the king stopped the com- 
bat." — Goldsmith. 

" Rapt into future times, the bard begun." — Pope. 

What tense is employed in general propositions, having no direct relation 
to time ? Examples. What is said respecting the use of the perfect parti- 
ciple and 9 the past tense of an irregular verb ? Illustrate. Correct the false 
syntax, and show why it is false. 



162 SYNTAX. VERBS. RULE XVI. 

Rem. 11. — The adverbs rather and better are often used in connection 
with the auxiliary had; as, " I had rather remain ;" — " He had better 
return." These forms of expression are anomalous, but their use in 
the familiar style is too well established to be controverted. Good au- 
thors sometimes employ them also in elevated writings, but this practice 
is not to be recommended. 

Examples : — " You are therefore to consider whether you had rather 
oblige, than receive an obligation." — Spectator. " Practices which 
had much better be inferred from general rules." — IV. A. Revierv. 
u They had rather part with life, than bear the thought of surviv- 
ing all that made life dear to them." — Hazlitt. 

Rem. 12. — The expressions, "had as lief," " had like," and "had 
ought," are anomalous and inelegant, and should be carefully avoided. 
Erroneous examples : — "More serious consequences had like to have 
resulted." — Prescott. u I had as lief the town crier spoke my lines." 
— Shakspeare. 

Rule XVI. — Participles. 
Participles relate to nouns or pronouns; as, "He 
stood leaning on his spade and gazing at the bright- 
ness in the west." , 

Rem. 1. — When a participle is preceded by the negative particle 
un, it becomes an adjective, unless the verb from which it is formed 
admits the same prefix. The words untiring, unsought, unseen, and 
unknown, are examples of this class of adjectives. But the words 
unbinding, unfolded, undone, etc., when used in the verbal sense, are 
to be regarded as participles, since they are formed regularly from 
the verbs unbind, unfold, undo, etc. 

Rem. 2. — Participles are often used in the sense of nouns; as, 
" There was again the smacking of whips, the clattering of hoofs, 
,and the glittering of harness." — Irving. 

Rem. 3. — Participles often perform, at the same time, the office 
of a noun and a verb ; as, " I could not avoid expressing my concern 
for the stranger." 

Rem. 4. — A participle is sometimes used absolutely, having no 
dependence on any other word ; as, " Properly speaking, there is no 
such thing as chance;" — " This conduct, viewing it in the most 
favorable light, reflects discredit on his character." 

Give the rule for the agreement of participles. Examples. Parti- 
ciples preceded by the negative particle un. Examples of each class. Give 
examples of participial nouns. What double office do participles often per- 
form? Examples. Give examples of participles used absolutely. 



VERBS. PARTICIPLES. RULE XVI. 163 

Rem. 5. — A participle sometimes relates to a sentence or phrase ; as 
" He had been strictly secured and guarded, owing to his former escape." 

— Walter Scott. 

u To do aught good never will be our task, 
But ever to do ill our sole delight, 
As being the contrary to his high will 
Whom we resist." — Milton. 

Rem. 6. — There are certain adjectives which are derived directly 
from verbs, and supply the place of passive participles. Their use is 
mostly confined to poetry. 

Examples : — " Regions consecrate to oldest time." — Wordsworth. 
" 'T is dedicate to ruin." — Coleridge. 

" To save himself and household from amidst 
A world devote to universal wreck." — Milton. 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 
Write exercises containing objectives governed by transitive verbs ; 

— intransitive verbs governing objectives of kindred signification ; — 
verbs having the same case after them as before them ; — verbs in 
the infinitive governed by verbs, nouns, and adjectives ;— verbs in 
the infinitive used without the sign to; — imperfect and perfect 
participles ; — participial nouns. 

EXERCISES IN PARSING. 
"Evil communications corrupt good manners." — "Thy name 
shall be Abraham." — " He shall be called John." — " I heard him 
relate the anecdote." — " I have written exercises, containing all the 
examples required." — " Conversation enriches the understanding, but 
solitude is the school of genius." — Gibbon. "Napoleon was never 
known to change his opinion on any subject." — Alison. " The 
Puritans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar character from 
the daily contemplation of superior beings and eternal interests." — 
Macaulay. 



"The daily press first instructed men in their wants, and soon 
found that the eagerness of curiosity outstripped the power of gratify- 
ing it." — Story. " He that teaches us any thing which we knew not 
before, is undoubtedly to be reverenced as a master." — Johnson. 
1 ' This universal pacification has hardly been thought of." — Channing. 
"It formed so important and singular a feature of their social economy, 
as to merit a much more particular notice than it has received." — 



i 64 SYNTAX. ADVERBS. RULE XVII. 

Prescott. " He was offered an employment." — Campbell. " He lay 
like a warrior taking his rest." — Wolfe. " In the beginning they 
maybe assailed by the clamor of self-interest, and frowned upon by the 
worshippers of expediency." — N. A. Review. " Many approxima- 
tions have been made, and are now making, to the truth." — Lockharl. 
" We make provision for this life, as though it were never fo have an 
end ; and for the other life, as though it were never to have a begin- 
ning. ' ' — Addison. " The desire £A<z£ our country should surpass all 
others, would not fe criminal, did we understand in what respects i£ is 
mo5£ honorable for a nation fo excel." — Channing. " To keep 
always praying aloud is plainly impossible." — G. Brown. 

Eule XVII. — Adverbs. 
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs ; 
as, " Men frequently contend for trifles ;" — "It was 
very thankfully received." 

Rem. 1. — An adverb is frequently used to modify a sentence or 
phrase.* 

Examples: — "Which is so at war j with nature." — Frof. Had- 
dock. " The final debate on the resolution was postponed for 
nearly a month." — Wirt. " They introduced the Deity to hu- 
man apprehension, under an idea more personal, more deter- 
minate, more within its compass" — Paley. " The other produc- 
tions of this indefatigable scholar, embrace a large circle of topics, 
independently of his various treatises on philology and criti- 
cism." — Prescott. " Verily I say unto you, they have their re- 
ward." Matt. 6 : 2. 
Rem. 2. — An adverb is sometimes used to modify a preposition ,% 
as, " He sailed nearly round the globe ;" — " He was wounded just below 
the ear." 

Give the rule for adverbs ? Examples. What are adverbs frequently 
used to modify, besides verbs, adjectives and other adverbs ? Examples, 

* " The adverb does not always belong to any one single word ; nothing 
being more common than the relation of an adverb to a clause, all of whose 
words are taken as one word ; and almost or quite as frequently, an adverb 
stands in relation to a whole sentence." — Smart. 

t " Sometimes a prepdtition and a noun together have the signification of 
an adjective ; and, as such, the phrase may be qualified by an adverb ; as 
doubly in fault, — doubly criminal." — Parkhurst. 

t See Sanborn, Parkhurst, J. M. Putnam, Wilbur, Brace, Emmons, Golds- 
bury, and Goodenow. 






ADVERBS. RULE XVII. 165 

Rem. 3. — Adjectives should be employed to qualify nouns and pro- 
nouns, and adverbs to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. It 
is therefore incorrect to say, " She writes elegant." " Thine often 
infirmities." 

Ops. — There are, however, certain forms of expression in which 
adverbs bear a special relation to nouns or pronouns ; # as, " Behold, I, 
even I, do bring a flood of waters." — Gen. 6: 17. "For our gospel 
came not unto you in word only, but also in power." — 1 Thes. 1:5. 

Rem. 4. — The adverbs yea, yes, nay, no, and amen, are generally 
used independently ; as, " Will you go ?" " No," — " Has the hour 
arrived ?" "Yes." 

Rem. 5. — Never is sometimes improperly used for ever ; as, "They 
might be extirpated, were they never so many." Corrected : — " They 
might be extirpated, were they ever so many." 

ReiM. 6. — The adverbs hither, thither, and whither, are now seldom 
employed except in grave discourse, their places being supplied, in 
common writings, by here, there, and where ; as, " It was dangerous to 
go there." — Irving. " Traders flocked there as to a fair." — Prescott. 
""Without knowing where to go." — Foley. "When you come here." 
— Willis. 

Rem. 7. — Adverbs are sometimes used to supply the place of 
nouns. 

Examples : — " Till now they had paid no taxes." — A. H. Everett. 
" On the following day Columbus came to where the coast swept 
away to the northeast for many leagues." — Irving. " Save 
where the beetle wheels his droning flight." — Gray. " Till then 
who knew the force of those dire arms ? " — Milton. " The sev- 
eral sources from whence these pleasures are derived." — Ad- 
dison. " From hence I was conducted up a staircase." — Irving. 

Obs. — At once, and by far, are in general use ; and the adverbial 
phrases from hence, from thence, from whence, constitute an author- 
ized idiom. But such expressions as from where, from there, to here, 
are seldom employed by the best prose writers. In poetry, their oc- 
currence is more frequent. 

What distinction should be observed in the use of adjectives and adverbs ? 
Illustrate. Wliat of the adverbs yea, yes, nay, no, and amen ? Exam- 
ples. What part of speech are adverbs sometimes used to represent ? Ex- 
amples. Which of the different forms of expression named are authorized, 
and which are objectionable ? 

* See Bullions, Allen and Cornwell, Brace, Butler, and Webber. 



166 SYNTAX. ADVERBS. — RULE XVII. 

Rem. 8. — Where, an adverb of place, is sometimes improperly em- 
ployed without reference to place, for the phrase in which ; as, " They 
framed a protestation, where [in which] they repeated all their former 
claims." 

Rem. 9. — The adverb there is often used for the sake of euphony, 
without any reference to place ; as, " There is an hour of peaceful 
rest." — W. B. Tappan. "There came to the beach a poor exile of 
Erin." — Campbell. When used in this sense, there is called an exple- 
tive adverb. 

Rem. 10. — The word all is frequently used as an adverb, in the sense 
of wholly ; as, 

" Yet our great enemy. 
All incorruptible, would on his throne 
Sit unpolluted." — Milton. 

Rem. 11. — A negation is properly expressed by the use of one 
negative only. The following sentence is therefore erroneous : — 

" I never did repent for doing good, 
Nor shall not now." — Shakspeare. 

Obs. 1. — Two negatives in the same clause are generally equivalent 
to an affirmative, and are sometimes elegantly employed to express a 
positive assertion ; as, " The pilot was not ^acquainted with the 
coast ;" — " Nor did he pass wwmoved the gentle scene." 

" Nor did they not perceive the evil plight 
In which they were, or the fierce pain not feel." — Milton. 

The intervention of only, or some other word of kindred meaning, 
preserves the negation ; as, " He was not only illiberal, but covetous." 

Obs. 2. — A repetition of the same negative renders the negation 
more emphatic ; as, " I would never lay down my arms ; — never — never 

— never." — Pitt. 

Rem. 12. — The adverb no is sometimes improperly used for not ; as, 
" Whether he will or no, he must be a man of the nineteenth century." 

— Macaulay. 

Rem. 13. — Two or more words are sometimes used in connection, 
as a compound adverb, or adverbial phrase. 

Examples : — " We will see about this matter by and by." — Irving. 
" Ishmael went forth to meet them, weeping all along as he 
went." — Jer. 41 : 6. "If we hope for what we are not likely 
to possess, we act and think in vain." — Addison. 

Rem. 14. — Adverbs should be placed in that situation which con- 
tributes most to the harmony and clearness of the sentence, and which 

How is a negation properly expressed ? Give examples of the violation 
of this rule. What is an adverbial phrase ? Examples. What rule 
should be observed respecting the position of adverbs ? Illustrate. 






SYNTAX. — CONJUNCTIONS. RULE XVIII. 167 

accords best with the usage of the language. This rule is violated in 
the sentence, " Thoughts are only criminal, when they are first cho- 
sen and then voluntarily continued." As it now stands, the adverb 
only properly qualifies criminal, whereas the author intended to have 
it qualify that portion of the sentence which follows the comma. 
Corrected : — " Thoughts are criminal, only when they are first cho- 
sen and then voluntarily continued." 

False Syntax. 

" In following the trail of his enemies through the forest, the 
American Indian exhibits a degree of sagacity, which almost appears 
miraculous." — Alison. " There are certain miseries in idleness, 
which the idle can only conceive." — Johnson. "It not only has 
form but life." — N. A. Review. 

Obs. 1. — An adverb should not be placed immediately after the 
infinitive particle to* This rule is violated in the following sentence : 
— " Teach scholars to carefully scrutinize the sentiments advanced in 
all the books they read." 

False Syntax. 

1 ' To make this sentence perspicuous it would be necessary to en- 
tirely remodel it." — Newman's Rhetoric. " It costs the pupil more 
to simply state the examples in such a form, than it does to perform 
them without any statement at all." — N. A. Review. 

Obs. 2. — The adverb enough is placed after the adjective which it 
modifies, and both the adjective and the adverb are placed after the 
noun ; as, " A house large enough for all." 

Rem. 15. — The words howsoever, whichsoever, and whatsoever, are 
sometimes divided by the intervention of another word; as, "But surely 
this division, how long soever it has been received, is inadequate and 
fallacious." — Johnson. " By what manner soever." — Wayland. 

Rule XVIII. — Conjunctions. 
Conjunctions connect words or sentences ; as, " Idle- 
ness and Ignorance are the parents of many vices ; ,; — 
" He fled because he was afraid." 

Correct the false syntax, and show why it is false. What of the position 
of adverbs modifying infinitives ? Correct the false syntax, and show why 
it is false. Give the rule respecting conjunctions. Examples. 

* See Davis, Parkhurst, Perky, and Kennion. 

15 



168 CONJUNCTIONS. — RULE XVIII. 

Rem. 1. — Relative pronouns and conjunctive adverbs are also 
employed to perform the office of connectives. 

Obs. 1. — In the compound sentence, " He who expects much, 
will often be disappointed," the relative who is the subject of the verb 
expects in one clause, and relates to the pronoun he, which is the sub- 
ject of will be disappointed in the other clause. The connection ex- 
pressed by who in this example, and by relative pronouns generally, 
is quite as close as that expressed by conjunctions. See p. 75. 

Obs. 2. — Many conjunctive adverbs modify the two verbs embraced 
in the different clauses which they connect ; as, " When he had deliv- 
ered his message he departed ;" — " Fame may give praise, while it 
withholds esteem." 

Obs. 3. — A conjunctive adverb used to supply the place of a 
preposition and a relative pronoun, is called a relative adverb; as, 
" The shepherd leaves his mossy cottage, where [in which] he dwells 
in peace;" — " The colonies had now reached that stage in their 
growth, when the difficult problem of colonial government must be 
solved." 

Rem. 2. — There are certain idiomatic forms of expression in which 
the connection between different clauses is implied in the relation 
which they bear to each other in sense ; as, " In this last case, the more 
apt and striking is the analogy suggested, the more will it have of an 
artificial appearance." — Whately. " Whatever was his predominant 
inclination, neither hope nor fear hindered him from complying with 
it." — Johnson. " Sad as his story is, it is not altogether mournful." — 
Southey. 

Rem. 3. — The conjunction that is often suppressed when the con- 
nection of the different clauses is obvious ; as, " But Brutus says he 
was ambitious." — Shakspeare. 

Obs. — When, however, the connection of the clauses is less inti- 
mate, the omission of that is objectionable ; as, " His ingenuity was 
such, [that] he could form letters, make types and wood cuts, and 
engrave vignettes in copper." — Bancroft. 

Rem. 4. — Two or more words are sometimes used together as a 
compound conjunction or conjunctive phrase. 

Examples : — "It has been observed that happiness, as well as virtue, 
consists in mediocrity." — Johnson. " The writer, by whom the 
noble features of our scenery shall be sketched with a glowing 

What other classes of words are also employed as connectives ? Illustrate 
the connective office of a relative pronoun. Two- fold modifying power of 
many conjunctive adverbs. Examples. What is a relative adverb? Ex- 
amples. Compound conjunctions. Examples. 



CORRESPONDING CONJUNCTIONS. RULE XVIII. 169 

pencil, and the peculiarities of our character seized with delicate 
perception, cannot mount so entirely and rapidly to success, hit 
that ten years will add new millions to the numbers of his read- 
ers." — E. Everett. 
Obs. — Many expressions of this class are elliptical ; but it is gen- 
erally better not to attempt to supply the words omitted, unless they 
are obviously implied. 

CORRESPONDING CONJUNCTIONS. 
Rem. 5. — Some conjunctions are composed of two corresponding* 
words. The following list embraces most of this class of connectives, 
and exhibits the correct mode of employing them : — 

Both — and: "It is the work of a mind fitted both for minute 
researches and for large speculations." — Macaulay. 

Though, although — yet, still, nevertheless: "Though deep, yet 
clear, though gentle, yet not dull;" — "Though a thousand rivers 
discharge themselves into the ocean, still it is never full." 
Whether — or : " Whether it were I or they." 
Either — or ; " No leave ask'st thou of either wind or tide." 
Neither — nor : "Neither act nor promise hastily." 
Obs. — The poets frequently use or — or for either — or, and nor 

— nor for neither — nor ; as, 

" Not to be tempted from her tender task, 

Or [either] by sharp hunger, or by smooth delight." — Thomson. 
" Nor [neither] eye nor listening ear an object finds." — Young. 
Rem. 6. — Some conjunctions are used in correspondence with 
adverbs or adjectives. The following are the principal connectives 
of this class : — 

As — as, so : " She is as amiable as her sister ;" — "As he excels 
in virtue, so he rises in estimation." 

So — as: " No riches make one so happy as a clear conscience ;" 

— " Speak so as to be understood." 

So — that, expressing a consequence : " She speaks so low that no 
one can hear what she is saying." 

Corresponding conjunctions. What conjunction is used to correspond with 
both? Give an example. [The teacher should^proceed in a similar 
manner through the list of corresponding conjunctions, and repeat 
the exercise till the pupils are able to distinguish readily the terms 
which properly correspond with each other.] What words are employed 
by the poets to correspond with or and nor ? Examples. 



170 SYNTAX. CONJUNCTIONS. RULE XVIII. 

Not only — bat, but also: " He was not only prudent, but also 
industrious." 

Such — as : " There never was such a time as the present." 
Such — that : l ' Such is the emptiness of human enjoyment, that 
we are always impatient of the present." 

More, sooner, etc. — than: " They have more than heart could 
wish ;" — " The Greeks were braver than the Persians." 

Obs. — Than should be used to correspond with rather and with 
all comparatives. The clause following other* is also more properly 
introduced by than, though good writers occasionally employ some 
other term. 

Hem. 7. — The negatives no, not, etc., may be followed by either or or 
nor. The use of nor serves to repeat the negation j and there are many 
cases in which it is decidedly preferable to or.f 

Examples : — " There are no more continents or worlds to be 
revealed." — E. Everett. " It is not by accuracy or profundity, 
that men become masters of great assemblies." — Macaulay. 
" I know not where to begin, nor where to end." — E. Everett. 
u He never convinces the reason, nor fills the imagination, nor 
touches the heart." — Macaulay. "Let not your fancy, nor 
your excited feelings lead you captive." — B. B. Edwards. 
" The exiles of New England saw not before them either a 
home or a country." — Story. 

Rem. 8. — The conjunction as, used in connection with an adjec- 
tive or adverb in the positive degree, is sometimes improperly coupled 
with a comparative, and followed by than; as, " The latest posterity 
will listen with as much, or even greater pleasure than their contem- 
poraries." — A. H. Everett. Corrected: — "The latest posterity 
will listen with as much pleasure as their contemporaries, or even 
greater." 

Correct Example. 

" I am as well as you have ever known me in a time of much 
trouble, and even better." — Cowper. 

False Syntax. 
" A vision came before him, as constant and more terrible than that 

With what words does than properly correspond ? Improper use of than 
to correspond with as. Correct the false syntax, and shore why it is false. 

* " In the book of Common Prayer we have, ' Thou shalt have no other 
Gods but me ;' and the same expression occurs in Addison, Swift, and other 
contemporary writers. Usage, however, seems of late to have decided almost 
universally in favor of than." — Dr. Crombie. 

t See Burn's Grammar. 



CORRESPONDING CONJUNCTIONS. RULE XVIII. 171 

from which he had escaped.' ' — Dickens. " I have proceeded in the 
revisal, as far, and somewhat farther than the fifteenth book." — 
Cowper. 

Rem. 9. — The conjunction or is sometimes employed to connect 
words that are in apposition ; as, " No disease of the mind can more 
fatally disable it from benevolence, than ill-humor or peevishness." 
Peevishness is not here a distinct thing from ill-humor, but merely 
another term for the same idea. 

Rem. 10. — The word as has a variety of uses, some of which 
deserve particular notice. It is employed, — 

1. In connection with certain prepositions; as, " It would have 
been idle for the philosopher to form conjectures, as to the 
direction which the kindling genius of the age was to assume." 

— E. Everett. "As for the rest of those who have written 
against me, they deserve not the least notice." — Dry den. 

2. To connect nouns and pronouns which are in apposition ; as, 
" Nor ought we, as citizens, to acquiesce in an injurious act." 

— Channing. 

3. To connect adjectives and participles with the nouns or pro- 
nouns to which they belong ; as, " The infantry was regarded 
as comparatively worthless." —Macaulay. " Their presence 
was of great moment, as giving consideration to the enterprise." 

— Prescott. 

Rem. 11. — The conjunction that is often employed to introduce a 
sentence or clause, which is used as a noun in the nominative or objec- 
tive case ; as, " That the idea of glory should be associated strongly with 
military exploits, ought not to be wondered at." — Channing. 

Rem. 12. — The conjunction so is occasionally used in the sense of if, 
or provided that ; as, " It signifies little whether it be very well exe- 
cuted or not, so it be reasonably well done, and without any glaring 
omissions or errors." — Brougham. 

Rem. 13. — The word than was formerly employed as a preposition, 
and still retains this character in the phrase than whom ; # as, "• There 
sat a patriot sage, than whom the English language does not possess a 
better writer." — E. Everett. 

" Which, when Beelzebub perceived, than whom, 
Satan except, none higher sat, with grave 
Aspect he rose." — Milton. 

What peculiar office does or sometimes perform? Illustrate. What 
peculiar uses of as are mentioned ? Give examples of each kind. 

* ■ The comparative agreethto the parts compared, by adding this preposi- 
tion, than.''' — Ben Jonson; London, 1640. (See also Crombie, Priestley, 
Wm. Ward, Bicknell, Meilan, and Lindsay.) 

15* 



172 SYNTAX. PREPOSITIONS. RULE XIX. 

" Felon unwhipp'd ! than whom in yonder cells 
Full many a groaning wretch less guilty dwells." — Sprague. 
Obs. — The phrase than which is also sometimes used in a similar 
manner ; as, " A work, than which the age has certainly produced none 
more sure of bequeathing its author's name to the admiration of future 
times." — J". G. Palfrey. 

Rem. 14. — The word both should not be used with reference to 
more than two objects or classes of objects. The following example 
is therefore erroneous : — " He paid his contributions to literary un- 
dertakings, and assisted both the Tatler, Spectator, and Guardian. " — 
Johnson. Both should be omitted. 

Rem. 15. — The conjunctions than and as are frequently followed 
by an ellipsis of one or more words required to complete the construc- 
tion ; as, u More than one [ ] of his plays are devoted exclusively 
to its illustration." — Prescott. " He was the father of all such as 

] handle the harp and organ." — Gen. 4 : 21. 

Obs. — Examples sometimes occur in which it is impossible to sup- 
ply the ellipsis satisfactorily; while the sense is clearly conveyed by 
the expression in its abridged form. In parsing such examples, it 
would be better for the pupil to refer to the foregoing remark, and not 
attempt to supply words which are altogether rejected by the idiom of 
the language. 

Rule XIX. — Prepositions. — Relation. 
Prepositions connect words and show the relation 
between them. 

Rem. 1. — In parsing a preposition, both terms of the relation ex- 
pressed by it should be pointed out. One of these terms is always 
the object of the preposition ; the other may be a verb, an adjective, 
a noun, or an adverb. In the sentence, '* He travelled for pleasure," 
for shows the relation between 'pleasure and the verb travelled. In 
the sentence, " They were destitute o/*food," of shows the relation 
between food and the adjective destitute. In the sentence, u This is 
an age of improvement," of shows the relation between improvement 
and the noun age. In the sentence, '• Ambassadors were sent pre- 
viously to the declaration," to shows the relation between declaration 
and the adverb previously. 

What care should be observed in the use of the word both ? Illustrate. 
By what are the conjunctions than and as frequently followed ? Examples. 
Give the rule for the relation expressed by prepositions. 



PREPOSITIONS. RELATION. RULE XIX. 173 

Obs. — There are certain elliptical forms of speech in which the 
antecedent term of relation is omitted ; as, 

" O for the voice and fire of seraphim, 
To sing thy glories with devotion due ! " — Beattie. 

Rem. 2. — A preposition and its object should be so placed as to 
leave no ambiguity in regard to the words which the preposition is 
intended to connect. The following sentence is faulty in this respect : 
— " The message was communicated by an agent, who had never 
before discharged any important office of trust, in compliance with the 
instructions of the executive." In is here intended to show the rela- 
tion between was communicated and compliance ; whereas the present 
arrangement indicates that it expresses the relation between had dis- 
charged and compliance. Corrected : — " The message was commu- 
nicated in compliance with the instructions of the executive, by an 
agent who had never before discharged any important office of 
trust." 

Rem. 3. — The use of two prepositions before a single noun, though 
inelegant, often contributes to perspicuity and brevity, and has the 
sanction of many good writers. 

Examples : — " Men's passions and interests mix with, and are 
expressed in, the decisions of the intellect." — Charming. " They 
were never revealed to, nor confronted with, the prisoner.'' — 
Prescott. "We have never uttered a word in this Journal, 
either in advocacy of, or in opposition to, any particular religious 
sect, or political party amongst us." — Horace Mann. 
Obs. — The same remark applies also to the use both of a preposi- 
tion and a transitive verb before a single object. 

Examples : — " It was created to influence, and not solely to be influ- 
enced by, the opinions of the community." — N. A. Review. 
"And may readily associate with, and promote either." — Dr. 
Hopkins. " We are so made as to be capable, not only of per- 
ceiving, but also of being pleased with, or pained by, the various 
objects by which we are surrounded." — Wayland. 

Rem. 4. — Two or more words are sometimes used together as a 
compound preposition ; as, " From between the arcades, the eye glances 
up to a bit of blue sky, or a passing cloud." — Irving. " Over against 
this church stands a large hospital." — Addison. 

Rem. 5. — Care should be taken to employ such prepositions as 
express clearly and precisely the relations intended. 

Illustrate. What rule is given respecting the position of a preposition 
and its object ? Illustrate. Give examples of compound prepositions. 
JVTiat care should be observed in the choice of prepositions ? 



174 SYNTAX. PREPOSITIONS. — RULE XX. 

Correct Examples. 
" He went to New York ;" — " He arrived at Liverpool ;" — " He 
rode into the country ;" — "He resides in London ;" — " He walks 
with a staff by moonlight ;" — " The mind is sure to revolt from the 
humiliation of being thus moulded and fashioned, in respect to its feel- 
ings, at the pleasure of another." — Whately. 

False Syntax. 

" We differ entirely with Lord Brougham." — N. Y. Review. 
" The posthumous volumes appeared in considerable intervals." — 
Hallam. " It was not evident what deity or what form of worship 
they had substituted to the gods and temples of antiquity." — 
Gibbon. 

Kule XX. — Prepositions. ■ — Government. 
Prepositions govern the objective case ; as, " They 
came to us in the spirit of kindness ;" — " From him 
that is needy, turn not away." 

Rem. 1. — A preposition should never be introduced to govern a 
word which is properly the object of a transitive verb. Thus, instead 
of saying, "We delight to contemplate on the wonders of creation," we 
should say, "We delight to contemplate the wonders of creation." 

Rem. 2. — Respecting the ellipsis of prepositions, no definite rule 
can be given. Care should be taken to conform to the usage of good 
writers. In the following sentence the preposition is improperly omit- 
ted : — " Chemistry and Botany will be studied the Spring term." 
Corrected : — " Chemistry and Botany will be studied during the Spring 
term." The following is also objectionable : — "It is worthy the con- 
sideration of all." — N. A. Review. Of should be inserted after wor- 
thy. 

Rem. 3. — A noun or pronoun following like, unlike, near, or 
nigh, is often governed by a preposition understood ;* as, " Solomon, 

Correct the false syntax, and show why it is false. What do preposi- 
tions govern? Examples. Nouns and 'pronouns following the words like, 
unlike, and nigh. Examples. 

* Like, unlike, near, and nigh, are classed by some grammarians with 
prepositions. 

"We have not placed them with the prepositions, for four reasons : (1.) 
because they are sometimes compared; (2.) because they sometimes have 
adverbs evidently relating to them ; (3.) because the preposition to or unto 
is sometimes expressed after them; and, (4.) because the words which 
usually stand for them in the learned languages, are clearly adjectives." — 
G. Brown. 



INTERJECTIONS. EXERCISES. RULE XXI. 175 

in all his glory, was not arrayed like [to] one of these;" — " The 
house stands near [to] a river. " 

Rem. 4. — The word save is frequently used to perform the office 
of a preposition ; as, 

" And all desisted, all save him alone." — Wordsworth. 

Rem. 5. — But* is sometimes employed as a preposition, in the sense 
of except ; as, " No one can appreciate the beauty and majesty of the 
heavens, hut him who has been shut out from every other prospect for 
days and weeks together." — Graham 's Magazine. 
» The boy stood on the burning deck, 
Whence all but him had fled." — Hemans. 
Rem. 6. — "O'clock" is an elliptical expression, contracted from 
"Of the clock."} 

Rule XXI. — Interjections. 
Interjections have no grammatical relation to the 
other words of a sentence ; as, " These were delightful 
days ; but, alas ! they are no more." 

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION. 
Write exercises containing examples of adverbs ; — conjunctions ; 
— conjunctive adverbs modifying verbs in two different clauses ; — a 
relative adverb ; — several examples of corresponding conjunctions ; — 
examples of prepositions and interjections. 

EXERCISES IN PARSING. 
Model. 
" He came in haste, and soon returned." 

The word save. Examples. What is the rule respecting interjec- 
tions? Examples. 

* The use of but as a preposition is discountenanced by G. Brown, San- 
born, Murray, S. Oliver, and several other grammarians. See also an able 
article in the Massachusetts Common School Journal, vol. ii., p. 19. 

The use of but as a preposition is approved by J. E. Worcester, John 
Walker, R. C. Smith, Picket, Hiley, Angus, Lynde, Hull, Powers, Spear, 
Farnum, Fowle, Goldsbury, Perley, Cobb, Goodenow, and other authors. 

" It is a preposition where we say, 'I saw no one but him;* yet we may 
by an ellipsis still explain it as a conjunction, — 'I saw no one, but [I saw] 
him;' — or, by another ellipsis, as an adverb, — 'I saw no one [I sa\v] but 
him,' that is, ' only him.' The simplest explanation, or that which dispenses 
with the contrived ellipsis, is the best." — Smart. 

t " At seven of the clock." — Spectator. ■ By five of the clock." — Shaks- 
peare. 



176 SYNTAX. EXERCISES. RULE XXI. 

In is a preposition, expressing the relation of the noun haste to the 

verb came. Prepositions connect words and show the relation 

between them. 
And is a conjunction, connecting the two clauses, He came and [he] 

returned. Conjunctions connect words or sentences. 
Soon is an adverb, modifying the sense of the verb returned. Adverbs 

modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. 

" He is very cautious." — " Health and plenty cheer the laboring 
swain." — " The weakest kind of fruit drops soonest to the ground." 
— Shakspeare. "If men see our faults, they will talk among them- 
selves, though we refuse to let them talk to us." — " War is to be 
ranked among the most dreadful calamities which fall on a guilty 
world." — Channing. 

" O Solitude! where are the channs 
Tliat sages have seen in thy face ?" — Cowper. 



" It is not true, that the state of public morals and virtue is as ele- 
vated as that of the individuals who compose a community.' ' — B. B. 
Edwards. " When a great principle is at stake, we must learn to 
dismiss all minor differences." — Ibid. " Now Moses kept the flock 
of Jethro his father-in-law ." — Exodus, 3:1. " How little opportu- 
nity for mental improvement do even # they possess! " — E. Everett. 
" He did not, like a leader, get up on an eminence, and from thence 
survey the subject in all its bearings." — Brougham. " Their road 
lay through the beautiful land where they had been so long linger- 
ing." — Prescott. "The sanctity of private property was recog- 
nized, as the surest guaranty of order and abundance." — Bancroft. 

" Doth he come from where the swords flashed high?" — Hemans. 

" We took our seats • 
By many a cottage hearth, where he received 
The welcome of an inmate come from far ." — Wordsworth. 

" Nor pride nor poverty dares come 

Within that refuge-house, the tomb." — Croly. 

" Liberty, as well as religion, has too deep an interest in the change 
which is to be effected." — Prof. C. Dewey. " As to the question of 
abstract right, I should hardly undertake its discussion at this time." 

* See Obs. on p. 165. 






GENERAL RULE. — RULE XXII. 177 

— Dana. " 1 have all along gone on the ground of the mutual influ- 
ence of the private upon the public, and the public upon the private 
relation" — Ibid. " Nor is this enterprise to be scoffed at as hope- 
less." — Channing. "It was my good fortune to meet, in a dinner 
party, with more men of celebrity in science or polite literature, than 
are commonly found collected round the same table." — Coleridge. 

Rule XXII. — General Rule. 
The different parts of a sentence should be made to 
harmonize with one another; and the several clauses 
should be so constructed and arranged as to express 
clearly the various relations, connections, and depen- 
dences intended, according to the best usages of the 
language. 

Rem. — This rule is sufficiently comprehensive to embrace all the 
different forms of construction in the language. It is, however, too 
general to afford special guidance to learners, and should be applied 
only in cases for which no definite rule is given. 

False Syntax. 

It belonged to that peculiar class of poetry, which never has, and 
never will awaken sympathy in the universal heart. — N. A. Review. 

Among all the animals upon which nature has impressed deformity 
and horror, there is none whom he durst not encounter. — Johnson. 
The sun looketh forth from the halls of the morning, 
And flushes the clouds that begirt his career. — W. G. Clark. 

The manner in which these essays were given to the world, on 
separate sheets, and with an interval of a few days between the 
publication of each, distinguished them from everything of the kind 
which had preceded them. — N. A. Review. 

Domestic society is the seminary of the social affections, the cradle 
of sensibility, w T here the first elements are acquired of that tenderness 
and humanity which cement mankind together ; and which, were they 
entirely extinguished, the whole fabric of social institutions would be 
dissolved . — Hall. 

Deliver me from the hand of strange children, whose mouth speak- 

Repeat the general rule of Syntax. Correct the false syntax, and show 
' it is false. 



178 SYNTAX. GENERAL EXERCISES. 

eth vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood. — Ps. 
144: 11. 

I have only touched on these several heads, which every one who 
is conversant in discourses of this nature will easily enlarge upon in 
his own thoughts, and draw conclusions from them which may be 
useful to him in the conduct of his life. — Spectator. 

The perplexity that attends a multiplicity of criticisms by various 
hands, many of which are sure to be futile, many of them ill-founded, 
and some of them contradictory to others, is inconceivable. — 
Cowper. 

The greatest masters of critical learning differ among one another. 
— Spectator. 

Thus, oft by mariners are shown 

Earl Godwin's castles overthrown. — Swift. 



GENERAL EXERCISES IN PARSING. 

The happiness of life is made up of an infinite number of little 
things, and not of startling events and great emotions ; and he who 
daily and hourly diffuses pleasure around him by kind offices, frank 
salutations, and cheerful looks, deserves as well of his species, as he, 
who, neglecting or despising all these, makes up for it by occasional 
acts of generosity, justice, or benevolence. — G. S. Hillard. 

It were, indeed, a bold task to venture to draw into comparison the 
relative merits of Jay and Hamilton. — Dr. Hawks. 

Success being now hopeless, preparations were made for a retreat. 
— Alison. 

The name of a mother ; — what a long history does it bring with it 
of smiles and words of mildness, of tears shed by night and of sigh- 
ings at the morning dawn, of love unrequited, of cares for which there 
can be no recompense on earth. — Prof E. A. Park. 

How feeble were the attempts at planting towns, is evident from the 
nature of the tenure by which the lands near the Saco were held. — ■ 
Bancroft. 

The language and literature, as well as the history of Spain, have, 
till within a few years past, attracted little attention in the United 
States ; a neglect which would be a subject of the greater reproach to 
us, if we could not find some apology for it in the less pardonable 
indifference of other nations, who have more leisure to indulge them- 



GENERAL EXERCISES. 179 

selves in the pleasures of literature tlian falls to the lot of the ever- 
busy inhabitants of the United States. — N. Y. Revieiv. 

When events are made familiar to us by history, we are perhaps 
disposed to undervalue the wisdom that foretold them. — Th. Camp- 
bell. 

Fortune, friends, kindred, home, — all icere gone. — Prescott, 

This spirit of knight-errantry might lead us to undervalue his 
talents as a general* and to regard him f merely in the light of a 
lucky adventurer. — Ibid. e 

There leviathan, 
Hugest of living creatures, on the deep 
Stretched like a promontory, sleeps or swims, 
And seems a moving land. — Milton. 
But now the door is opened soft and sloio. — Prof Wilson, 

We all of us feel, that virtue is not sometlung adopted from neces- 
sity. — Channing. 

Sir William Berkley was elected governor. — Bancroft. 

I have little doubt, but that the contempt with which a ploughman 
would look down upon me for not knowing oats from barley, would 
transcend that of an astronomer at my not being able to distinguish 
between Cassiopeia and Ursa Major. — Prof. Wilson, 

No farther steps for procuring his release were taken at this time ; 
either because the means for defraying the legal expenses could not be 
raised; or, which is quite as probable, because it was certain that Bun- 
yan, thinking himself in conscience bound to preach in defiance of the 
law, would soon have made his case worse than it then was. — 
Southey. 

This court was composed of three officers, than whom none are 
more distinguished in our naval service. — N. A. Review. 

Of what immense benefit had it been to England in all subsequent 
ages, if hex Elizabethan era had been a Christian era; if the great men 
who then toiled in the fields of knowledge, had all been Boyles and 
Miltons. — B. B. Edwards, 

If Christianity may be said to have given a permanent elevation to 
woman as an intellectual and moral being ; it is as true, that the 
present age, above all others, has given play to her genius, and 
taught us to reverence its influence. — Story. 

The private wars of the nobles with each other, were the first cir- 

* See p. 129, Rem. 8. t Cortes. 

16 



180 SYNTAX. ANALYSIS. 

cumstance which renewed the courage and revived the energy of the 
feudal barons. — Alison. 

The mind courses to and fro through the past, and casts itself into 
the future. — Am. Quart. Review. 

The rill is tuneless to his ear who feels 

No harmony within ; the south wind steals 

As silent as unseen, amongst the leaves. 

Who has no inward beauty, none perceives, 

Though all around is beautiful. — Dana. 

Nine times the space that measures day and night 

To mortal men, he with his horrid crew 

Lay vanquished. — Milton. 



ANALYSIS.* 

[It is particularly desirable that pupils should proceed as early as 
practicable from the formalities of common parsing, to the more impor- 
tant exercise of analyzing critically the structure of language. The 
mechanical routine of technical parsing is peculiarly liable to become 
monotonous and dull, while the practice of explaining the various 
relations and offices of words in a sentence, is adapted to call the mind 
of the learner into constant and vigorous action, and can hardly fail of 
exciting the deepest interest.] 

The analysis of a sentence consists in resolving it into its con- 
stituent parts, and pointing out their several relations, connections 
and dependences. 

Every simple sentence consists essentially of two parts ; — a sub- 
ject and a predicate. The subject is that of which something is 
affirmed ; and the predicate is that which is affirmed of the subject. 

Note. — The word affirm, as used by grammarians, includes all the 
various significations of the verb. See definition of the verb, pp. 78 — 9. 

The subject and predicate may be distinguished as either grammat- 
ical or logical. 

The grammatical subject is a noun, or some word, phrase or sen- 
tence, used as a noun. 

In what does the analysis of a sentence consist ? Of what does every sim- 
ple sentence consist ? Define the subject and the predicate. What is the 
grammatical subject ? 

* See Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar, Kiihner's and Crosby's 
Greek Grammar, De Sacy's General Grammar, and Crane's English Gram- 
mar. 



ANALYSIS. — EXERCISES. 181 

The logical subject includes all those words which are employed to 
express the whole idea of the subject. 

The grammatical predicate is the verb. 

The logical predicate includes all those words which are employed 
to express the whole idea of the predicate. 

Illlustration. 

" The desire of being pleased is universal." In this sentence, the 
desire of being pleased is the logical subject, and is universal is the 
logical predicate. The grammatical subject is desire, and the gram- 
matical predicate is the verb is. 

The subject and the predicate may also be either simple or com- 
pound. 

A simple subject is a single noun, or a word or phrase used as a 
noun, either standing by itself, or accompanied by modifying ad- 
juncts. 

Note. — The learner will observe that words which are to be parsed 
grammatically as modifying the subject, often belong logically to the 
predicate. Thus, in the sentence, " The fields are green," the word 
green belongs grammatically to the subject and logically to the predi- 
cate. 

A compound subject consists of two or more single subjects. 
A simple predicate is a single verb, either standing alone or accom- 
panied by modifying adjuncts. 

A compound predicate consists of two or more simple predicates. 

Illustration. 
" England and France are separated by a narrow strait." In this 
sentence the subject is compound, embracing the words England and 
France. ■ In the sentence, " The tide ebbs and flows," the predicate 
is compound, including ebbs and flows. 

EXERCISES. 
" Wisdom is worthy of all diligence." — " Anger and haste 
hinder good counsel." — " Pharaoh and his host were drowned 
in the Red Sea." — " The Roman empire fell by its own cor- 

What is the logical subject ? The grammatical predicate ? The logu 
call Illustrate. What is a simple subject? Compound? A simple predi- 
cate ? Compound ? Illustrate. Exercises. 



182 SYNTAX. — EXERCISES IN ANALYSIS. 

ruptions." — "The city was besieged and taken." — "The 

violence of the storm and the darkness of the night, prevented 

all approach to the ship, and rendered our situation truly 

alarming." 

Point out the grammatical and the logical subjects and predicates in the 
foregoing sentences. Which of them are simple and which compound ? 

In analyzing a simple sentence, it should first be resolved into its 
logical subject and logical predicate. 

In analyzing the logical subject, the grammatical subject should 
first be pointed out, and then its various modifying adjuncts. These 
adjuncts themselves may also be analyzed, and the office of each word 
particularly explained. 

The logical predicate should be disposed of in a similar manner. 

If the sentence to be analyzed is compound, the pupil should first 
resolve it into its component members or clauses, and explain the 
nature and office of the connectives. He may then proceed to ana- 
lyze the different members or simple sentences, in the manner already 
described. 

EXERCISES IN ANALYSIS. 

Model. 

u To avenge an injury, places us on a level with our enemy." 

In this sentence, the logical subject is to avenge an injury, and places 
us on a level with our enemy is the logical predicate. The grammatical 
subject is to avenge, used as a noun. An injury is the object of to 
avenge ; and injury is limited by an. The grammatical predicate is 
places. The adjuncts of places are us and on a level. Us is the object of 
places ; on expresses the relation between places and level ; level is the 
object of on ; and a defines level. With our enemy is an adjunct of 
level. Our possesses enemy, and enemy is the object of with, which 
relates it to level. 

" The reverence for our own moral nature, on which we 
have now insisted, needs earnest and perpetual inculcation." 
— Channing. 

This sentence embraces two clauses. First clause : — The reverence 
for our own moral nature, needs earnest and perpetual inculcation. Second 
clause : — on which we have now insisted. These clauses or simple sen- 

In analyzing a simple sentence, what is the first step to be taken ? What 
is to be done with the logical subject and predicate ? 



ANALYSIS. EXERCISES. 183 

tences are connected by the relative pronoun which. Which relates to 
reverence in the first clause, and is governed by the preposition on, which 
connects it with have insisted in the second clause. 

Analysis of the first clause : — The logical subject is the reverence for 
our own moral nature, and needs earnest and perpetual inculcation is the logi- 
cal predicate. The grammatical subject is reverence ; the defines rever- 
ence ; for our own moral nature is an adjunct of reverence ; our possesses 
nature ; own and moral modify nature ; nature is the object of for, which 
relates it to reverence. The grammatical predicate is needs ; inculcation 
is the object of needs ; earnest and perpetual qualify inculcation ; and 
couples the two adjectives. 

Analysis of the second clause : — The logical subject is we, which is 
also the grammatical subject. The logical predicate is composed of 
on which and have now insisted. ' On and which have already been dis- 
posed of. The grammatical predicate is have insisted. Now modifies 
have insisted. 

" Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans fought bravely at Ther- 
lnopylse, against the whole Persian army." — "In ancient times, 
the benefactors of mankind were deemed worthy of immortal honors." 
— " Misfortunes make men more thoughtful." — " Numa Pompilius, 
the most fortunate of Roman kings, is said to have lived above eighty 
years." — " Industry and application will make amends for the want 
of a quick and ready w T it." — u A new order of cultivated intellect is 
greatly needed." — "Those who attain any excellence, commonly 
spend life in one pursuit." — " We are inclined to believe those whom 
we do not know, because they have never deceived us." — " Neither 
genius nor practice will always supply a hasty writer with the most 
proper diction." 

Men of great and stirring powers, who are destined to mould the 
age in which they are born, must first mould themselves upon it. — 
Coleridge. 

He who would advance in any department of knowledge, must 
know what others have done before him. — B. B. Edwards. 

War will never cease, while the field of battle is the field of glory, 
and the most luxuriant laurels grow from a root nourished with blood. 
Charming. 

The Earth was made so various, that the mind 

Of desultory man, studious of change, 

And pleased with novelty, might be indulged. 

Prospects, however lovely, may be seen 

Till half their beauties fade ; the weary sight, 

Too well acquainted with their smile, slides off 

16* 



184 SYNTAX. ANALYSIS. 

Fastidious, seeking less familiar scenes. 
Then snug enclosures in the sheltered vale, 
Where frequent hedges intercept the eye, 
Delight us ; happy to renounce awhile, 
Not senseless of its charms, what still we love, 
That such short absence may endear it more. 
Then forests, or the savage rock, may please, 
That hides the seamew in his hollow clefts 
Above the reach of man. His hoary head, 
Conspicuous many a league, the mariner, 
Bound homeward, and in hope already there, 
Greets with three cheers exulting. — Cowper. 



CLASSIFICATION OF CLAUSES. 

When the different members or clauses of a compound sentence are 
so combined that each of them is complete and independent of itself, 
they are called coordinate clauses. 

Examples : — "It was night, and the moon shone brightly." — " Row- 
ing is a healthful exercise, but it is not free from danger." — 
' " A scorner loveth not reproof, neither will he go unto the wise." 
— " Employ the present wisely, for # the future is uncertain." 
When one of the members of a compound sentence is dependent upon 
another, the dependent clause is termed subordinate, and the clause 
which is independent is termed the principal or leading clause. 
■ Examples : — " The Britons, with whom Ccesar contended, defended 
their country bravely." — " It cannot be questioned, that knowledge 
confers power" — " Where your treasure is, there will your heart 
be also." — u He will be pardoned, if he repentP 
In the foregoing examples the subordinate clauses are put in Italics. 



CONNECTION OF WORDS. 

[Besides the regular system of Analysis already given, various kin- 
dred exercises may be occasionally resorted to with great profit. One 
of the most useful and important of this class of exercises, is that of 
tracing the connection between words situated in different parts of a 
sentence. This practice may be successfully introduced in connec- 
tion with ordinary parsing exercises, before the learner has given any 
special attention to the general subject of Analysis. The following 
example will give some idea of the mode of conducting this exercise.] 

* When two or more clauses are so combined that one of them bears to 
another the relation of cause, inference, or conclusion, they are usually classed 
with coordinate clauses. 



PUNCTUATION. 185 

Model. 

" There is one Being to whom we can look with a perfect 
conviction of finding that security, which nothing about us 
can give, and which nothing about us can take away." — 
Greenwood. 

Let it be required to trace the connection between the words away 
and is : — Away modifies can take ; can take is connected with can 
give by and ; ichich is governed by can give, and relates to security ; 
security is the object of finding, which is related by of to conviction; 
conviction is the object of with, which relates it to can look ; to ex- 
presses the relation between whom and can look, and whom relates to 
Being, which is the subject of is. 

Let it be required to trace the connection between that and we : — 
That defines security, which is the object of finding ; finding is re- 
lated by of to conviction ; conviction is related by with to can look, 
which agrees with we. 



PUNCTUATION. 

Punctuation treats of the points or marks inserted in 
written composition, for the purpose of showing more 
clearly the sense intended to be conveyed, and the 
pauses required in reading. 

The principal points or marks employed in punctua- 
tion, are the comma (,), the semicolon (;), the colon 
(:), the period (.), the note of interrogation (?), the 
note of exclamation (!), and the dash ( — ). 

The comma requires a momentary pause ; the semicolon, a pause 
somewhat longer than the comma; the colon, a pause somewhat 
longer than the semicolon ; and the period, a full stop. The note of 
interrogation, or the note of exclamation, may take the place of any 
of these, and accordingly requires a pause of the same length as the 
point for which it is substituted.- 

The duration of these pauses depends on the character of the com- 

Of what does punctuation treat ? What are the marks chiefly em- 
ployed in punctuation ? IVJiat pauses do they severally require ? 



ISO SYNTAX. PUNCTUATION. 

position j the grave style requiring much longer intervals than the 
lively or impassioned. 

The sense of a passage often requires a pause in reading, where 
usage does not allow the insertion of a point in writing ; as, " He 
woke | to die ;" — " Our schemes of thought in childhood | are lost 
in those of youth." On the other hand, points are sometimes inserted 
merely to indicate the syntactical construction, without requiring a 
suspension of the voice in reading ; as in the phrase, " No, Sir." 

The Comma. 
Rule 1. — When a relative and its antecedent are separated from 
each other by one or more words, a comma should generally be 
inserted before the relative ; as, " Think not man was made in vain, 
ivho has such an eternity reserved for him." — Spectator. 
" There is a pleasure in poetic pains, 
Which only poets know." — Coivper. 

Rule 2. — When two or more words come between the adjective 
and its noun, a comma is placed after the intervening words ; as, 
" To dispel these errors, and to give a scope to navigation, equal to 
the grandeur of his designs, Prince Henry called in the aid of sci- 
ence." — Irving. 

Rule 3. — When the subject of a sentence consists of several 
nominatives, or of a single nominative followed by an adjunct consisting 
of several words, # a comma should be inserted before the following 
verb. 

Examples : — " Many of the evils which occasion our complaints of 
the world, are wholly imaginary." — u The effect of this univer- 
sal diffusion of gay and splendid light, was to render the prepon- 
derating deep green more solemn." — Dwight. 

" The golden sun, 
The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, 
Are shining on the sad abodes of death." 

What departure from the grammatical punctuation of a sentence is often 
required in reading 1 . Examples. 

[The teacher may repeat an example under each of the rules for the 
use of the several points, and require the pupil to give the rule that 
applies to it. Pupils should also be required to select examples from 
other works, illustrating all the rules of punctuation.] 



PUNCTUATION. — THE COMMA. 187 

Rule 4. — When a sentence or clause is used as the nominative 
to a preceding- or following verb, it should be separated from the verb 
by a comma ; as, " How dearly it remembered the parent island, is 
told by the English names of its towns." — Bancroft 

Rule 5. — Two successive words in the same construction, with- 
out a conjunction expressed, are generally separated by a comma ; 
as, " An aged, venerable man." 

" Has Nature, in her calm, majestic march, 
Faltered with age at last?" — Bryant. 

An apparent exception to this rule often occurs in the case of two 
successive adjectives; as in the expression, a A venerable old man." 
But the two adjectives, in this example, are not in the same construc- 
tion, since old qualifies man, while venerable qualifies the phrase old 
man. 

A comma may also be inserted before a conjunction expressed, if 
either of the words connected is followed by an adjunct consisting of 
several words ; as, " Intemperance destroys the vigor of our bodies, 
and the strength of our minds," 

Rule 6. — Three or more distinct, successive words in the same 
construction, with or without a conjunction expressed, should be 
separated by commas ; as, 

" Beside the bed where parting life was laid, 
And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns dismayed, 
The reverend champion stood. " — Goldsmith. 
" An elegant sufficiency, content, 
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books, 
Ease and alternate labor, useful life, 
Progressive virtue, and approving Heaven."— TJiomson. 

11 How poor, how rich, how abject, how august, 
How complicate, how wonderful, is man ! " — Young. 

The same apparent exception occurs in this rule as in the last. In 
the expression, " A light bluish green tint," bluish modifies green, and 
light modifies the phrase bluish green ; while the three words, light blu- 
ish green, taken together, qualify tint. 

Rule 7. — Successive pairs of words should be separated from 
each other by commas , as, " The authority of Plato and Aristotle, 
of Zeno and Epicurus, still reigned in the schools." 

Rule 8. — When the different members of a compound sentence 



188 SYNTAX. — PUNCTUATION. 

contain distinct propositions, they are generally separated from each 
other by commas. 

Examples : — {i They shrunk from no dangers, and they feared no 
hardships." — Story. " And thus their physical science became 
magic, their astronomy became astrology, the study of the com- 
position of bodies became alchemy, mathematics became the 
contemplation of the spiritual relations of number and figure, 
and philosophy became theosophy." — Whewell. 

Rule 9. — When the different members of a sentence express a 
mutual comparison, contrast, or opposition, they should generally be 
separated from each other by commas. 

Examples : — " The more I reflect upon it, the more important it 
appeared." — Goldsmith. " The quaker revered principles, not 
men; truth, not power." — Bancroft. "As the hart panteth 
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee." — Ps. 
42: 1. 

Rule 10. — To prevent ambiguity in cases of ellipsis, a comma 
is sometimes inserted in the place of the word or phrase omitted. 
Example : — " As a companion he was severe and satirical j as a 
friend, captious and dangerous ; in his domestic sphere, harsh, 
jealous, and irascible." 

Rule 11. — When two or more successive clauses end with words 
sustaining a common relation to some word in the following clause, a 
comma should generally be inserted after each. 

Examples : — " The truest mode of enlarging our benevolence, is, 
not to quicken our sensibility towards great masses, or wide- 
spread evils, but to approach, comprehend, sympathize with, and 
act upon, a continually increasing number of individuals." — 
Channing. " Such compulsion is not merely incompatible with, 
but impossible in } a free or elective government." — H. Mann. 

When, however, the word in the following clause is not accompanied 
by several words, the comma before it is often omitted ; as, "We may, 
and often do employ these means." 

Rule 12. — When several words intervene between the verb of a 
principal clause and the commencement of a subordinate clause, the 
clauses should be separated from each other by a comma ; as, " Had 



PUNCTUATION. THE SEMICOLON. 189 

we stopped here, it might have done well enough." — " He was 
nineteen years of age, when he bade adieu to his native shores." — 
Prescott. 

Rule 13. — When the connection of a sentence is interrupted by 
one or more words, not closely related in construction to what pre- 
cedes, a comma should generally be inserted both before and after 
the word or words introduced ; as, 

" He, like the w T orld, his ready visit pays 
Where fortune smiles." — Young. 

Rule 14. — The independent case, and the infinitive absolute, 
with their adjuncts, should be separated from the rest of the sen- 
tence by commas. 

Examples : — " To foster industry, to promote union, to cherish 
religious peace, — these were the honest purposes of Lord Balti- 
more during his long supremacy." — Bancroft. " The playwri- 
ters, where are they? and the poets, are their fires extin- 
guished ? " — H. More. 
"Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done, 
Shouldered his crutch, and showed how fields were won." 

Goldsmith. 
11 Rejoice, you men of Anglers, ring your bells !" — ShaJespeare. 

Rule 15. — When either of two words in apposition is accompa- 
nied by an adjunct, the latter of them, with the words depending 
upon it, should be set off from the rest of the sentence by commas ; 
as, " The following is a dialogue between Socrates, the great Athe- 
nian philosopher, and one Glaucon, a private man." 

Rule 16. — When a word or phrase is repeated for the sake of 
emphasis, a comma should be inserted both before and after it ; as, 
" Here, and here only, lies the democratic character of the revolu- 
tion . " — Bancroft. 

" Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers, that lately sprang 
and stood, 
In brighter light and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood?" 

Bryant. 

Note. — "When the word or words to be set off according to the three 
preceding rules, stand at the beginning or end of a sentence, one of the 
commas is of course unnecessary. 



190 SYNTAX. — PUNCTUATION. 

The Semicolon. 
Rule 1. — When a sentence which is complete in construction, is 
followed by a clause containing a reason, an explanation, an infer- 
ence, or a contrast, it should generally be preceded by a semicolon ; 
as, " The past seems to promise it ; bat the fulfilment depends on the 
future." — " To the latter it is a double advantage ; for it diminishes 
their pain here, and rewards them with heavenly bliss hereafter." — 
Goldsmith. 

Rule 2. — When several successive clauses have a common con- 
nection with a preceding or following clause, a semicolon is generally 
inserted after each. 

Examples : — " Children, as they gamboled on the beach j reapers, 
as they gathered the harvest ; mowers, as they rested upon the 
scythe ; mothers, as they busied themselves about the house- 
hold; — were victims to an enemy who disappeared the mo- 
ment a blow was struck, and who was ever present where a 
garrison or a family ceased its vigilance." — Bancroft. " Rea- 
son as we may, it is impossible not to read, in such a fate, 
much that we know not how to interpret ; much of provocation 
to cruel deeds and deep resentment ; much of apology for 
wrong and perfidy; much of doubt and misgiving as to the 
past ; much of painful recollections ; much of dark forebod- 
ing." — Story. 

Rule 3. — When several particulars are enumerated in a sen- 
tence, some of which are expressed in several words, they are often 
separated from each other by semicolons ; as, " The Aragonese cortes 
was composed of four branches or arms ; the ricos hombres, or great 
barons ; the lesser nobles, comprehending the knights ; the clergy ; 
and the commons. ' ' — Prescott. 

Rule 4. — Two or more successive short sentences having no 
common dependence, are often separated by semicolons instead of 
periods. 

Example : — u As we have already noticed, its bruised leaves 
afforded a paste from which paper was manufactured ; its juice 
was formed into an intoxicating beverage, pulque, of which the 
natives, to this day, are excessively fond ; its leaves supplied an 
impenetrable thatch for the more humble dwellings; thread, of 



PUNCTUATION. — PERIOD. 191 

which coarse stuffs were made, and strong cords, were drawn 
from its tough and twisted fibres • pins and needles were made 
of the thorns at the extremity of its leaves j and the root, when 
properly cooked, was converted into a palatable and nutritious 
food." — Trescott. 

The Colon. 
The colon is at present much less used than formerly ; its place 
being often supplied by the period, the semicolon, or the dash. 
There are, however, many cases in which no other point can with 
propriety be substituted, The following examples will give a gen- 
eral idea of the circumstances under which the colon is most frequently 
employed : — 

" The grant was absolute and exclusive : it conceded the land and 
islands ; the rivers and the harbors ; the mines and the fisheries. " — 
Bancroft. 

u There is only one cause for the want of great men in any period : 
nature does not think fit to produce them." — Hallam. 

" Johnson puts the case thus : The Historian tells either what is false 
or what is true. In the former case he is no historian. In the latter 
he has no opportunity for displaying his abilities." — Macaulay. 

u The following are the names of the survivors, four of whom were 
seated on the platform from which this address was spoken : — Dr. 
Joseph Fiske, Messrs. Daniel Mason, Benjamin Locke, William Mun- 
roe," etc. — E.Everett. 

"In Num. 14 : 33, it is predicted, that Israel shall wander in the wil- 
derness forty years." — Biblical Repository. 

" The Works of William E. Channing, D. D., with an Introduction. 
Boston : James Munroe and Company." 

The Period. 

The period is placed at the end of a complete sentence. 

A period is sometimes inserted between two complete sentences, 
which are connected by a conjunction ; as, " By degrees the confidence 
of the natives was exhausted ; they had welcomed powerful guests, 
who had promised to become their benefactors, and who now robbed 
their humble granaries. But the worst evil in the new settlement was 
the character of the emigrants." — Bancroft. 

The period should be used after all abbreviations ; as, "Mass.," 
" N. Y.," " M. D.," " Aug.," " Esq.," " Mrs.," " Mr.," Such 
expressions as 1st, 3d, 10th, 4's, 9's, Mo, Svo, 12mo, do not require 
the period after them, since they are not strictly abbreviations, the 
figures supplving the place of the first letters of the words. 
17 



1 92 SYNTAX. — PUNCTUATION. 

The Dash. 
The dash is used where a sentence is left unfinished ; where there 
is a sudden turn, or an abrupt transition ; and where a significant 
pause is required. 

Examples : — " Let the government do this — the people will do the 
rest." — Macaulay. 

" Ah, that maternal smile I it answers — Yes." — Corvper. 
" He suffered, — but his pangs are o'er j 
Enjoyed, — but his delights are fled j 
Had friends, — his friends are now no more ; 
And foes, — his foes are dead." — Montgomery. 
Modern writers often employ dashes in place of the parenthesis. 

The Note of Interrogation. 
The note of interrogation is placed at the end of a sentence in 
which a direct question is asked ; as, " What is to be done?" 

The Note of Exclamation. 
The note of exclamation is used after expressions of sudden emo- 
tion or passion, and after solemn invocations and addresses ; as, 
" Liberty ! Freedom ! Tyranny is dead : 

Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets ! " — Shakspeare. 
" Night, sable goddess ! from her ebon throne, 
In ray less majesty now stretches forth 
Her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world. 
Silence how dead ! and darkness how profound ! " — Young. 
" Hail, holy light ! offspring of heaven firstborn ! " — Milton. 

When the interjection Oh is used, the point is generally placed 
immediately after it ; but when O is employed, the point is placed after 
one or more intervening words ; as, 

" Oh ! my offence is rank, it smells to heaven ! " — Shakspeare. 
" But thou, O Hope ! with eyes so fair, — 
What was thy delighted measure ? " — Collins. 

% The following characters are also employed in Composition : — 

The parenthesis ( ) generally includes a word, phrase, or remark, 
which is merely incidental or explanatory, and which might be omit- 
ted without injury to the grammatical construction ; as, 
" The tuneful Nine (so sacred legends tell) 
First waked their heavenly lyre these scenes to tell." — Campbell. 



PUNCTUATION. 193 

« Know then this truth, (enough for man to know,) 
Virtue alone is happiness below." — Pope. 

The parenthesis is now employed less frequently than formerly; 
commas or dashes being used to supply its place ; as, " The colonists — 
such is human nature -** desired to burn the town in which they had 
been so wretched." — Bancroft. 

Brackets [ ] are used to enclose a word, phrase, or remark, which 
is introduced for the purpose of explanation or correction ; as, 
11 Putting off the courtier, he [the king] now puts on the philos- 
opher." 

The parenthesis is often used to supply the place of brackets, and 
brackets are occasionally employed to supply the place of the paren- 
thesis. 

The apostrophe (') is used to denote the omission of one or more 
letters ; as, o'er, tho\ It is likewise the sign of the possessive case, 
being used instead of a letter which was formerly inserted in its place ; 
as, man's for manes, or manis. 

Marks of quotation (" ") are used to indicate that the exact words 
of another are introduced ; as, " In my first parliament," said James, 
" I was a novice." 

When a quotation is introduced within a quotation, it is usually dis- 
tinguished by single inverted commas j as, " I was not only a ship-boy 
on the 'high and giddy mast,' but also in the cabin, where every 
menial office fell to my lot." If both quotations commence or termi- 
nate together, this commencement or termination is indicated by the 
use of three commas ; as, " In the course of this polite attention, he 
pointed in a certain direction, and exclaimed, ' That is Mr. Sherman, 
of Connecticut ; a man who never said a foolish thing in his life.' " 

When a point is inserted immediately after a quotation, it should be 
placed within the quotation marks. 

A small dash (") is sometimes placed over a vowel to denote that 
it is long ; as, noble. A breve ( w ), placed over a vowel, shows that 
it is short ; as, respite. 

A mark of accent (') is sometimes placed over a syllable to denote 
that it requires particular stress in pronunciation ; as, doing. 

A dicer esis (") is sometimes placed over the latter of two success- 
ive vowels to show that they do not form a diphthong ; as, cooperate. 

The cedilla (_,) is a mark which is sometimes placed under the letter 
c to show that it has the sound of 5; as in "facade." 

The parenthesis. Examples. Brackets. Examples. The apostrophe. 
Examples. Marks of quotation. Examples. How are long vowels dis- 
tinguished? — short vowels? The diaresis. 



1 94 . SYNTAX. ■ — PUNCTUATION, 

The asterisk (*), the obelisk (f), the double dagger (J), and par- 
allels (||), as well as letters and figures, are employed in referring to 
notes in the margin, or at the bottom of the page. 

The ellipsis (* * *) or ( ) is used to denote the omission of 

some letters or words ; as, "H***y M***** 1," " C s 

K g.» 

The brace k * s use( * t0 connect wor( ls which have a common appli- 
\ cation. 

The caret (a) is employed in writing, to show that some word or 
letter has been omitted; as, "Washington uniformly treated Mr. 

and 
Sherman with great respect A attention." 

The hyphen (-) is used after a part of a word at the end of a line, 
to show that the remainder is at the beginning of the next line ; and 
to connect the simple parts of a compound word, as all-absorbing. 

In dividing a word at the end of a line, the break should always be 
made between two syllables, and not between different letters of the 
same syllable. 

The index (EG 3 ) refers to some remarkable passage. 

The section (§) is used to distinguish the parts into which a work 
or a portion of a work is divided. 

The paragraph (^[) is used in the Old and New Testaments to 

denote the beginning of a new subject. In other books, paragraphs 

are distinguished by commencing a new line farther from the margin 

than the beginning of the other lines. This is called indenting. 

[For Exercises in punctuation, the teacher may write on a black- 
board some portion of a well-pointed book or other piece of writing, 
omitting all the points ; and then require the pupils to transcribe and 
punctuate it. When this is done, the several copies may be compared 
and corrected. The teache/ may also read one or more paragraphs 
aloud, and require the pupils to write and punctuate what is read, with- 
out seeing the printed copy. Exercises of this description should be 
repeated till the pupils become familiar with all the common principles 
of punctuation. Pupils should also.be required to devote careful atten- 
tion to this subject, in connection with their ordinary exercises in 
composition.] 

The asterisk, obelisk, etc. Marks of ellipsis. Examples. The brace. 
Examples. The caret. Examples. The hyphen. Examples. Division 
of a word at the end of a line. The index. Examples. The section. 
Examples. The paragraph. Examples. 



195 



PART IV. 



PROSODY. 

Prosody treats of accent, quantity, and the laws of 
versification^ 

Accent is the stress which is laid on one or more syllables of a 
word, in pronunciation ; as, reverberate, undertake. 

The term accent is also applied, in poetry, to the stress laid on mono- 
syllabic words $ as, 

" Content is wealth, the riches of the mind!''' — Dryden. 

The quantity of a syllable is the relative time occupied in its pro- 
nunciation. A syllable may be long in quantity, as fate; or short, 
as let. The Greeks and Romans based their poetry on the quantity 
of syllables ; but modern versification depends chiefly upon accent, 
the quantity of syllables being almost wholly disregarded. 

A pause is a brief suspension of the voice in reading or speaking. 

There are two pauses which are peculiar to poetry ; — the c&sural 
and the final. The ccesura is a pause which is introduced into a line 
to render the versification more melodious ; as, 

" Not half so swift | the trembling doves can fly." 

" Thrones and imperial powers, | offspring of heaven." 

The csesural pause generally occurs after the fourth, fifth, or sixth 
syllable j but it occasionally takes place after the third or the seventh. 

Of what does prosody treat ? What is accent ? Examples. What is 
said of quantity ? What is a pause ? What pauses are peculiar to poetry ? 
Give an account of each. Examples. 

* Emphasis, Tone, Pitch and Inflection, which are often treated of under 
the head of Prosody, belong move properly to Elocution. 

17* 



196 PROSODY. — VERSIFICATION. 

"When the caesura occurs after the fourth syllable, the verse is lively 
and spirited ; as, 

" Her lively looks | a sprightly mind disclose, 
Quick as her eyes | and as unfixed as those." 

When the caesura occurs after the fifth syllable, the verse loses its 
brisk and lively air, and becomes more smooth, gentle, and flow- 
ing ; as, 

"Eternal sunshine | of the spotless mind, 

Each prayer accepted | and each wish resigned." 

When the caesura occurs after the sixth syllable, the verse becomes 
more solemn and its measure more stately ; as, 

" The wrath of Peleus' son, | the direful spring 
Of all the Grecian woes, | Goddess, sing." — Pope. 

The final pause is that which occurs at the end of a line. 
In reading poetry, careful attention should be given to the final 
and csesural pauses. 

VERSIFICATION. 

Versification is a measured arrangement of words in which the 
accent is made to recur at certain regular intervals. 

This definition applies only to modern verse. In Greek and Latin 
poetry, it is the regular recurrence of long syllables, according to set- 
tled laws, which constitutes verse. 

There are two kinds of verse ; — rhyme and blank verse. 
Rhyme is the correspondence of sounds in the last words or sylla- 
bles of verses ;* as, 

" Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, 
And even his failings leaned to virtue's side." — Goldsmith. 

For two syllables to form a full and perfect rhyme, it is necessary 
that the vowel be the same in both ; that the parts following the vowel 
be the same ; that the parts preceding the vowel be different ; and that 
the syllables be accented. f 

Blank verse is verse without rhyme ; as, 

" So live, that, when thy summons comes to join 
The innumerable caravan that moves 
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take 
His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

What care should he observed in reading poetry ? What is versification ? 
What different kinds of verse are there? Define rhyme. Examples. De- 
fine blank verse. Examples. 

* The lines of poetry are properly called verses, t Latham. 



VERSIFICATION. 197 

Thou go not, like the quarry-slave, at night, 

Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed 

By an unfaltering trust, approach the grave, 

Like one that draws the drapery of his couch 

About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." — Bryant. 

Blank verse possesses, in many respects, important advantages over 
rhyme. It allows the lines to run into one another with perfect free- 
dom, and is hence adapted to subjects of dignity and force, which 
demand more free and manly numbers than can be commanded in 
rhyme. Rhyme, on the other hand, is undoubtedly the most important 
ornament of English versification. 

Blank verse is always written in lines of ten syllables. Rhymed 
verses may consist of any number of syllables. 

Afoot is a rhythmical division of a verse ; as, 

" Our thoughts | as bound | less, and | our souls | as free." 
A couplet, or distich, consists of two verses making complete 
sense ; as, 

" Indulge the true ambition to excel 
In that best art, — the art of living well." 

A triplet consists of three verses which rhyme together ; as, 
" Of many things, some few I shall explain, 
Teach thee to shun the dangers of the main, 
And how at length the promised land to gain." — Dryden. 

Alliteration is the frequent recurrence of the same letter ; as, 

" The ZordZy Zion /eaves his ZoneZy Zair." 
" IFeave the ?z?arp and weave the woof." 

A stanza is a combination of several lines, or verses, constituting 
a regular division of a poem. 

In popular language, stanzas are frequently called verses. 

Scanning is the resolving of verses into the several feet of which 
they are composed. 

The principal feet used in English poetry are, — 

1. The Iambus, which consists of two syllables; the first unac- 
cented, and the second accented ; as, con-tend. 

What is a foot ? Examples. What is a couplet ? Examples. What 
is a triplet? Examples. What is alliteration? Examples. Define a 
stanza. What is scanning ? What kind of feet are principally used in 
English poetry ? Examples of each. 



198 PROSODY. — IAMBIC VERSE. 

2. The Trochee, which consists of two syllables ; the first accent- 
ed, and the second unaccented ; as, no-ble. 

3. The Anapest, which consists of three syllables ; the first two 

unaccented, and the last accented ; as, in-ter-cede. 

The following feet are employed less frequently: — (1.) The spondee, 
which consists of two accented syllables; (2.) the pyrrhic, which con- 
sists of two unaccented syllables; (3.) the dactyle, consisting of three 
syllables, of which the first only is accented; (4.) the amphibrach, con- 
sisting of three syllables, of which the second only is accented; (5.) 
the tribrach, consisting of three unaccented syllables. 

Iambic Verse. 

Iambic verse is composed of iambic feet, and has the accent on the 
even syllables The most common forms are the following : — 

1. Four iambuses, or eight syllables in a line ; as, 

" And may | at last | my we a | ry age 
Find out | the peace | ful her | mitage." 

This measure is sometimes varied, to adapt it to light subjects, by 
taking an additional unaccented syllable ; as, 

" Or if | it be | thy will | and pleas | ure, 
Direct | my plough | to find | a treas | ureP 
In some cases, a syllable is cut off from the first foot ; as, 

" Praise | to God, | immor | tal praise, 
For | the love | that crowns | our days." 

2. Five iambuses, or ten syllables in a line ; as, 

"For me [ your trib | uta | ry stores | combine." . 

This is usually called the heroic measure, and is the most elevate 
and dignified kind of English verse. It frequently admits of somt 
variety, particularly at the beginning or end of a line. A trochee i; 
sometimes employed instead of an iambus, and an unaccented syllabli 
is occasionally attached to the last foot ; as, 

" His house she enters ; there to be a light 
Shining within, when all without is night ; — 
A guar | dian-an | gel, o'er | his life | presid | ing, 
Doubling | his pleas | ures, and | his cares | divid | ingP — Rogers. 
A verse of six feet, or twelve syllables, called an Alexandrine, is 
occasionally introduced into heroic poetry, especially at the close of a 
passage ; as, 

" Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow ; — 
Such as | Crea | tion's dawn | beheld, | thou roll | est now." 

What is iambic verse ? What are the principal forms of iambic verse 1 
"Examples of eacJi 



TROCHAIC VERSE. 199 

Heroic verse may be written either with or without rhyme. Mil- 
ton's Paradise Lost, Thomson's Seasons, Cowper's Task, and Pope's 
Translation of Homer, are examples of heroic verse. 

The four lined stanzas of Psalmody often consist of alternate verses 
of four and three feet ; as, 

" Thou didst, | might | y God! | exist 
Ere time | began | its race j 
Before j the am | pie el | ements 
Fill'd up | the void | of space.'- 

A single syllable is sometimes added at the end of a line, for the 
sake of variety ; as, 

" Waft, waft, | ye winds, | his sto | ry ; 
And you, ye waters, roll, 
Till, like | a sea | of glo | ry, 
It spreads from pole to pole." 

The following forms of iambic verse are also occasionally em- 
ployed : — 

(1) One iambus, with an additional syllable j as, 

11 Consent | ing, 
Repent | ingP 

(2) Two iambuses, with or without an additional syllable ; as, 

" What place ] is here ! 

What scenes | appear ! n 
u Upon | a moun | tain, 

Beside | a foun | tainP 

(3) Three iambuses, with or without an additional syllable ; as, 

" A charge | to keep | I have, 
A God | to glo | rify." 
" Our hearts | no long | er Ian | guish." 

Trochaic Verse. 
Trochaic verse is composed of trochaic feet, and has the accent on 
the odd syllables. The principal forms of Trochaic verse are the 
following : — 

1. Three trochees in a line ; or three trochees and an additional 
syllable ; as, 

"Wo is | me, Al | hama." 

What are the principal forms of trochaic verse ? Examples of each. 



200 PROSODY. ANAPESTIC VERSE. 

" Haste thee, | Nymph, and [ bring with | thee 
Jest, and | youthful | Jolli | ty." — Milton. 

2. Four trochees ; as, 

" Round us | roars the | tempest | louder." 

3. Six trochees ; as, 

"On a | mountain | stretch'dbe | neatha | hoary | willow." 
The following forms are sometimes employed : — 

(1) One trochee, with an additional syllable ; as, 

"Tumult | cease, 
Sink to | peace." 

(2) Two trochees ; or two trochees, with an additional syllable j as, 

"Wishes | rising, 

Thoughts sur | prising." 
" Give the | vengeance | due 

To the | valiant | crew." 

(3) Five trochees ; as, * 

"Virtue's | bright'ning | ray shall | beam for | ever." 

Anapestic Verse. 
Anapestic verse has the accent on every third syllable. The fol- 
lowing are the principal forms : — 

1. Two anapestic feet; or two anapests and an unaccented sylla- 
ble ; as, 

" They renew | all my joys." 

" For no arts | could avail | him." 

2. Three anapestic feet ; as, 

" I am out | of human | ity's reach, 
I must fin | ish my jour | ney alone." — Cowper. 

3. Four anapestic feet ; or four anapests and an additional syllable ; 
as, k 

" For a field | of the dead | rushes red | on my sight ; 

And the clans | of Cullo | den are scat | ter'd in fight." — Campbell. 
" On the cold | cheek of death, | smiles and ro | ses are 

blend | ing" — Beattie. 
Iambic, trochaic, and anapestic feet, admit of occasional intermix- 
ture. 

What are the principal forms of anapestic verse ? Examples of each. 



POETIC LICENSE. 201 

Trochaic and Iambic. 
" Tfrant | and slave, | those names | of hate | and fear." 

Iambic and Anapestic. 
" My sot | rows I then | might assuage." 

Poetic License, 
Custom has given sanction to certain modes of expression in 
poetry, which are not comformable to the ordinary rules of grammar. 
The following are the most important of these peculiarities : — 

1. Poetry admits of many antiquated expressions and irregular 
forms of construction ; as, 

" Let each, as likes him best, his hours employ." 

11 Long were to tell what I have seen." 

"He knew to sing and build the lofty rhyme." 

2. Many words sometimes undergo changes in spelling, that the 
number of syllables may be made greater or less ; as, *gan 9 for began ; 
e'er, for ever. 

3. The arrangement of words frequently departs from the ordinary 
requirements of syntactical rules ; as, 

" In saffron robe with taper clear." — Milton. 
"No hive hast thou of hoarded sweets." — Gray. 
" A transient calm the happy scenes bestow." — Ibid. 
" When first thy sire to send on earth 

Virtue, his darling child, designed." — Gray. 
"Heaven trembles, roar the mountains, thunders all the 
ground." 

" Thee, chantress, oft the woods among, 
I woo, to hear thy even song." — Milton. 

4. Adjectives are often used for nouns or adverbs ; as, 

" Gradual sinks the breeze into a perfect calm." 

5. The conjunction nor is often used for neither, and or for either ; 
as, 

" To them nor stores nor granaries belong." 

What peculiarities of expression are allowed in poetry ? Examples of 
each class. 



202 PROSODY-. — • POETIC- LICENSE. 

" He riches gave, he intellectual strength, 
To few, and therefore none commands to be 
Or rich, or learned." — PoIIok. 

6. Intransitive verbs are often used transitively ; as, 

"He mourned no recreant friend." 
" Yet not for thy advice or threats, I fly 
These wicked tents devoted." — Milton. 

7. Poetry admits of a great variety of elliptical expressions ; as, 

" The brink of [a] haunted stream." 
" For is there aught in sleep [which] can charm the wise? " 
" To whom thus Adam " [spoke.] 
[He] " Who does the best his circumstance allows, 

Does well, acts nobly, — angels could [do] no more." — Young. 



203 



APPENDIX. 



FIGURES OF SPEECH. 

A figure of speech is a departure from the ordinary form of 
words, from their regular construction, or from their literal significa- 
tion. 

Departures from the usual form of words are called figures of Ety- 
mology. 

Departures from the regular construction of words are called figures 

of Syntax. 

Departures from the literal signification of words are called figures 
of Rhetoric. 

Fig2ires of Etymology. 
The figures of Etymology are Apharesis, Syncope, Apocope, Pr6s- 
thesis, Paragoge, Synaresis, Diuresis, and Tmesis. 

1 . Aphceresis is the taking of a letter or syllable from the beginning 
of a word ; as, 'neath, for beneath; 'gainst, for against. 

" But his courage 'gan fail, 
For no arts could avail." 

2. Syncope is the elision of one or more letters from the middle of 
a word ; as, lingering, for lingering; lov'd for loved. 

3. Apocope is the elision of one or more letters from the end of a 
word ; as, thro", for through; tlC , for the. 

4. Prosthesis is the addition of one or more letters to the beginning 
of a word ; as beloved, for loved; enchain, for chain. 

5. Paragoge is the addition of one or more letters to the end of a 
word ; as, awaken, for awake; bounden, for bound. 

Define a figure of speech. What are figures of Etymology ? — of Syn- 
tax ?— of Rhetoric ? Define Aphceresis. Examples. Syncope. Exam- 
ples. Apocope. Examples. Prosthesis. Examples. Paragoge. 
Examples. 

18 



204 APPENDIX. FIGURES OF SYNTAX. 

6. ' Synceresis is the contraction of two syllables into one ; as, alien- 
ate, for alienate ; learned, for learn-ed. 

7. Diceresis is the separation of two vowels standing together, so 
as to connect them with different syllables ; as, cooperate, aerial. 

8. Tmesis is the separation of a compound word into two parts, 
by introducing another word between them ; as, " Thy thoughts 
which are to us ward," for " Thy thoughts which are toward us;" 
— "How high soever" for "Howsoever high." 

Figures of Syntax. 

The principal figures of Syntax, are Ellipsis, Pleonasm, Endllage, 
and Hyperbaton. 

1 . Ellipsis is the omission of one or more words which are neces- 
sary to complete the grammatical construction. The following exam- 
ples will serve to illustrate this figure : — 

(1) Nouns; as, " St. Paul's " [church] ; — " The twelve " [apos- 
tles]. 

(2) Adjectives; as, " Every day and [every] hour;" — "A gen- 
tleman and [a] lady." 

(3) Pronouns ; as, " I am monarch of all [which] I survey ;" — 
" He left in the morning, and [he] returned the same day." 

(4) Verbs; as, " To whom the angel" [spoke]; — [Let] " No 
man eat fruit of thee." 

(5) Adverbs ; as, " He spoke [wisely] and acted wisely." 

(6) Prepositions ; as, " He was banished [from] England ;" — " He 
lived like [to] a prince." 

(7) Conjunctions; as " I came, [and] I saw, [and] I conquered." 

(8) Phrases and entire clauses; as, "I love you" for nothing more 
than [I love you] for the just esteem you have for all the sons of 
Adam." — Swift. 

2. Pleonasm is the use of more words to express ideas, than are 
necessary ; as, " What we have seen with our eyes, and heard with 
our ears." 

Synaresis. Examples. Diaresis. Examples. Tmesis. Examples. 
What are the principal figures of Syntax ? Define Ellipsis. Examples of 
the omission of nouns ; — adjectives ; — pronouns ; — verbs ; — adverbs ; — 
prepositions; — conjunctions. Give examples of the omission of phrases 
and clauses. Define Pleonasm. Examples. 



FIGURES OF RHETORIC. 205 

The repetition of a conjunction is termed Polysyndeton ; as, "We 
have ships and men and money and stores." 

3. Enallage is the use of one part of speech for another ; as, 

" Slow rises worth, by poverty depressed." 

4. Hyperbaton is the transposition of words ; as, " All price 
beyond," for " Beyond all price." 

Figures of Rhetoric. 

The principal figures of Rhetoric are Simile, Metaphor, Allegory, 
Antithesis, Hyperbole, Irony, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Personification, 
Apostrophe, Interrogation, Exclamation, Vision, and Climax. 

1. A Simile is a direct and formal comparison ; as, " He shall be 
like a tree planted by the rivers of water." 

u As, down in the sunless retreats of the ocean, 

Sweet flowrets are springing, no mortal can see j 
So, deep in my bosom, the prayer of devotion, 
Unheard by the world, rises silent to thee." — Moore. 

2. A Metaphor is an implied comparison ; as, " What are the 
sorrows of the young ? Their growing minds soon close above the 
wound." 

3. An Allegory is a continued metaphor. In the following beauti- 
ful example, found in the 80th Psalm, the people of Israel are repre- 
sented under the symbol of a vine : — 

" Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou hast cast out the 
heathen and planted it. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst 
cause it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The hills were covered 
with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly 
cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto 
the river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all 
they which pass by the way do pluck her ? The boar out of the wood 
doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it." 

4. An Antithesis is an expression denoting opposition or contrast ; 
as, " The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are 
bold as a lion." 

" Tho' deep, yet clear ; tho' gentle, yet not dull." 

Enallage. Examples. Hyperbaton. Examples. Simile. Examples 
Metaphor. Examples. Allegory. Examples. Antithesis. Examples, 



206 APPENDIX. FIGURES OF RHETORIC. 

5. An Hyperbole is an exaggeration in the use of language, repre- 
senting objects as greater or less, better or worse, than they really 
are. Thus, David, speaking of Saul and Jonathan, says, " They 
are swifter than eagles ; they were stronger than lions." 

6. Irony is a mode of speech expressing a sense, contrary to that 
which the speaker or writer intends to convey. The prophet Elijah 
employed this figure when he said to the priests of Baal : " Cry aloud, 
for he is a God ; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a 
journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked." 

7. Metonymy is a figure by which one thing is put for another ; 
as, " I have been reading Milton;" that is, his poems or works, — 
" Gray hairs [old age] should be respected." 

8. Synecdoche is a figure by which the whole is put for a part, or 
a part for the whole; as, "Man returneth to dust;" that is, his 
body. — " This roof [house] shall be his protection." 

9. Personification, or Prosopopeia, is a figure by which we attribute 
life and action to inanimate objects ; or ascribe to irrational animals 
and objects without life, the actions and qualities of rational beings ; 
as, " The ground thirsts for rain." 

" See Winter comes, to rule the varied year, 
Sullen and sad, with all his rising train." — Thomson. 

10. Apostrophe is a figure by which a speaker or writer turns from 
the party to which his discourse is mainly directed, and addresses 
himself to some person or thing, present or absent ; as, " Death is 
swallowed up in victory. O Death ! where is thy sting 1 O Grave ! 
where is thy victory? " — 1 Cor. 15 : 54, 55. 

In modern usage, the term Apostrophe is applied to any address made 
to an inanimate object, an irrational animal, or an absent person ; as, 

" Hail, holy light, offspring of Heaven, first-born ! n — Milton. 
" Sail on, thou lone, imperial bird, 

Of quenchless eye and tireless wing." — Mellen. 
\ 

H Alas ! my noble boy ! that thou shouldst die ! 

Thou, who wert made so beautifully fair ! 

That death should settle in thy glorious eye, 

And leave his stillness in this clustering hair ! 

Hyperbole. Examples. Irony. Examples. Metonymy. Examples. 
Synecdoche. Examples. Personification. Examples. Apostrophe. Ex- 
amples. 



FIGURES OF RHETORIC. 207 

How could he mark thee for the silent tomb ! 
My proud boy, Absalom ! " — Willis. 

1 1 . Interrogation is a figure by which a question is asked for the 
purpose of expressing an assertion more strongly ; as, " Do we mean 
to submit to the measures of Parliament, Boston Port Bill and all? 
Do we mean to submit, and consent that we ourselves shall be ground 
to pow r der, and our country and its rights trodden down in the dust ? 
I know we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit." — 
Webster. 

12. Exclamation is a figure employed to express some strong emo- 
tion ; as, 

" wretched state ! bosom, black as death ! " — Shakspeare. 
u Ah ! how unjust to nature and himself, 
Is thoughtless, thankless, inconsistent man ! " — Young. 

13. Vision, or Imagery, is a figure by which past or future events 
are represented as passing before our eyes. The following is a 
beautiful example of this figure : — 

" Methinks I see it now, that one solitary, adventurous vessel, the 
Mayflower of a forlorn hope, freighted with the prospects of a future 
state, and bound across the unknown sea. I behold it pursuing, with 
a thousand misgivings, the uncertain, the tedious voyage. Suns rise 
and set, and weeks and months pass, and the winter surprises them on 
the deep, but brings them not the sight of the wished-for shore. I 
see them now scantily supplied with provisions, crowded almost to suf- 
focation in their ill-stored prison, delayed by calms, pursuing a circuit- 
ous route ; — and now driven in fury before the raging tempest, on the 
high and giddy waves. The awful voice of the storm howls through 
the rigging. The laboring masts seem straining from their base : — 
the dismal sound of the pumps is heard ; — the ship leaps, as it were, 
madly from billow to billow ; — the ocean breaks, and settles with 
engulfing floods over the floating deck, and beats with deadening 
weight against the staggered vessel." — E. Everett. 

14. Climax is a figure in which the ideas rise or sink in regular 
gradation ; as, " Giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; and 
to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to tern- 

Define Interrogation. Examples. Exclamation. Examples. Vision* 
Examples. Climax. Examples. 

18* 



208 APPENDIX. — CLIMAX. 

perance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, 
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity." — 2 Pet. 
1 : 5 — 7. " What a piece of work is man ! how noble in reason ! 
how infinite in faculties ! in form and moving, how express and admi- 
rable! in action, how like an angel! in apprehension, how like a 
god ! " — Shakspeare. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 



A. or Ans. answer. 

A. A. S. Academics Americana so- 

cius, fellow of the American 

Academy. 
A. B. or B. A. artium baccalaureus, 

bachelor of arts. 
Abp. archbishop. 
Acct. account. 

A. C. ante Christum, before Christ. 
A. D. anno Domini, in the year of 

our Lord. 
Adj. adjective. 
Admr. administrator. 
Adv. adverb. 
Ala. Alabama. 
A.M. ante meridiem, before noon ; 

or, anno mundi, in the year of 

the world ; or, artium magister, 

master of arts. 
Anon, anonymous. 
Apr. April. 
Ark. Arkansas. 

A. U. C. anno urbis conditce, in the 

year of the city. [Rome.] 
Aug. August. 
Bart, baronet. 
Bbl. barrel. 
B.C. before Christ. 

B. D. bachelor of divinity: 



Benj. Benjamin. 
Bp. bishop. 

C. or cent, a hundred. 
Capt. captain. 
Chap, chapter. 
Chas. Charles. 
Chron. Chronicles. 
Co. company ; county. 
Col. colonel. 

Coll. college. 

Cor. Corinthians. 

Cr. credit, or creditor. 

Ct. or Conn. Connecticut. 

Cts. cents. 

Cwt. hundred weight. 

D. (d.) denarius, a penny, or pence. 
P. C. District of Columbia. 

D. D. doctor of divinity. 

Dea. deacon. 

Dec. December. 

Deg. degree, or degrees. 

Del. Delaware. 

Dep. deputy. 

Deut. Deuteronomy. 

Do. or ditto, the same. 

Doct. doctor. 

Dolls, or $, dollars. 

Doz. dozen. 

Dr. debtor ; doctor. 



210 



APPENDIX. ABBREVIATIONS. 



Dwt. pennyweight. 
E. east. 

Eccl. Ecctesiastes. 
Ed. editor ; edition. 

E. g. exempli gratia, for example. 
Eng. English, or England. 
Eph. Ephesians. 

Esq. esquire. 

Etc. et cetera, and others, and so on. 

Ex. Exodus ; example. 

Exr. executor. 

Feb. February. 

Fig. figure. 

Fla. Florida. 

Fol. folio. 

Fr. French. 

F. R. S. fellow of the Royal So- 

ciety. 
Ga. Georgia. 
Gal. Galatians. 
Gall, gallon. 
Gen. Genesis ; general. 
Gent, gentlemen. 
Geo. George. 
Gov. governor. 
Gr. grain. 
H. or hr. hour. 
H. B. M. His or Her Britannic 

Majesty. 
Heb. Hebrews. 
Hhd. hogshead. 
H. M. His or Her Majesty. 
Hon. honorable. 
Hund. hundred. 
la. or Ind. Indiana, 
lb. or -ibid, ibidem, in the same 

place. 
Id. idem, the same. 
I. e. id est, that is. 
111. Illinois. 
Inst, instant, j. e. present, or of this 

month. 



Incog, incognito, unknown. 

Isa. Isaiah. 

Jan. January. 

Jas. or Ja. James. 

Jno. John. 

Jona. Jonathan. 

Jos. Joseph. 

Josh. Joshua. 

Jun. or Jr. junior. 

Kt. knight. 

Ky. Kentucky. 

La. Louisiana. 

Lam. Lamentations. 

Lat. latitude. 

L. C. Lower Canada. 

Lev. Leviticus. 

Lieut, lieutenant. 

LL. D. legum doctor, doctor of laws. 

Lon. longitude. 

Lond. London. 

L. S. locus sigilli, the place of the 

seal. 
M. mille, a thousand. 
M. A. master of arts. 
Maj. major. 
Mar. March. 
Mass. Massachusetts. 
Matt. Matthew. 
M. C. member of Congress. 
Md. Maryland 
M. D. medicincB doctor, doctor of 

medicine. 
Me. Maine. 
Messrs. Messieurs. 
Mi. or Miss. Mississippi. 
Mich. Michigan. 
Mo. Missouri. 

M. P. member of Parliament. 
Mr. Mister. 
Mrs. Mistress. 
MS. manuscript. 
MSS. manuscripts. 



ABBREVIATIONS. 



211 



N. North. 

N. A. North America. 

N. B. nota bene, take particular 
notice. 

N. B. New Brunswick. 

N. C. North Carolina. 

N. E. New England j north-east. 

Nem. con. nemine contradicente, no 
one opposing. 

N. H. New Hampshire. 

N. J. New Jersey. 

No. number. 

N. 0. New Orleans. 

Nov. November. 

N. S. Nova Scotia j new style. 

N. T. New Testament. 

Num. Numbers. 

N. W. north-west. 

N. Y. New York. 

O. Ohio. 

Obt. obedient. 

Oct. October. 

0. S. old style. 

Oxon. Oxonia, Oxford. 

Oz. ounce, or ounces. 

P. page. 

Pa. or Penn. Pennsylvania. 

Per cent, per centum, by the hun- 
dred. 

Pet. Peter. 

Ph. D. doctor of philosophy. 

PI. plural. 

P. M. post-master. 

P. M. post meridiem, afternoon. 

P. 0. post-office. 

Pp. pages. 

Pres. president. 

Prob. problem. 

Prof, professor. 

Prop, proposition. 

Ps. Psalms. 

P. S. post scriptum, postscript. 



Q. or qu. question. 

Q. E. D. quod erat demonstrandum, 

which was to be demonstrated. 
Qr. quarter. 
Qt. quart. 

Q. v. quod vide, which see. 
Rev. reverend ; Revelation. 
R. I. Rhode Island. 
R. N. royal navy. 
Robt. Robert. 
Rom. Romans. 
Rt. Hon. right honorable. 
S. south j shilling, or shillings. 
S. A. South America. 
S. C. South Carolina. 
Sec. secretary. 
S. E. south-east. 
Sen. senior. 
Sept. September. 
Sq. square. 

ss. scilicet, to wit, namely. 
St. saint ; street. 
S. T. D. sanctce theologian doctor, 

doctor of theology. 
S. W. south-west. 
Tenn. Tennessee. 
Thess. Thessalonians. 
Thos. Thomas. 
Tim. Timothy. 
Tit. Titus. 

Tr. translator ; treasurer. 
U. C. Upper Canada. 
Ult. ultimo, (last,) the last month. 
U. S. United States. 
V. or vid. vide, see. 
Va. Virginia. 

Viz. videlicet, to wit, namely. 
Vol. volume. 
Vols, volumes. 
Vs. versus, against. 
Vt. Vermont. 
W. West. 



212 APPENDIX. — ABBREVIATIONS. 

W. I. "West Indies. &c, et cetera, and others, and so 

Wk. week. forth. 

Wm. William. 4to. quarto. 

"Wt. weight. 8vo. octavo. 

Yd. yard. 12mo. duodecimo. 

Yds. yards. 18mo. octodecimo. 

&;, and. 



INDEX 



Abbreviations, 209. 
Accent, 193, 195. 
Adjectives, 11, 19, 64, 140. 
Adverbs, 16, 112, 164. 
Allegory, 205. 
Alliteration, 197. 
Alphabet, 23. 
Analysis, 180. 
Anapestic verse, 200. 
Antithesis, 205. 
Aphseresis, 203. 
Apocope, 203. 
Apostrophe, 192, 206. 
Apposition, 128. 
Articles, 12, 66, 143. 
Asterisk, obelisk, etc., 193. 
Auxiliary verbs, 88. 
Blank verse, 196. 
Brace, 193. 
Brackets, 192. 
Capitals, 24. 
^aret, 193. 

ase, 60. 
Cedilla, 193. 
Climax, 207. 
Collective nouns, 150. 
Colon, 190. 
Comma, 186. 

Common and proper nouns, 50. 
Comparison of adjectives, 67. 
Comparison of adverbs, 113. 
Conjugation of verbs, 88, 107. 
Conjunctions, 17, 20, 115, 167. 
Conjunctive adverbs, 113, 168. 
Consonants, 28, 35, 41. 
Corresponding conjunctions, 169. 



Couplet, 197. 

Dash, 191. 

Declension of nouns, 63. 

Declension of pronouns, 71, 76. 

Defective verbs, 112. 

Derivation, 116. 

Diaeresis, 193, 204. 

Diphthongs, 29, 34. 

Ellipsis, 193, 204. 

Enallage, 205. 

English Grammar, division of, 22. 

Etymology, 48. 

Exclamation, 192, 207. 

Exercises, passim. 

Feet, poetic, 197. 

Figures of speech, 203. 

Gender, 51. 

General rule of Syntax, 177. 

Hyperbaton, 205. 

Hyperbole, 206. 

Hyphen, 194. 

Iambic verse, 198. 

Idiom, 121. 

Independent case, 131. 

Index, 194. 

Infinitives, government of, 158. 

Interjections, 18, 116, 175. 

Interrogation, 191, 207. 

Interrogative form of verbs, 106. 

Interrogative pronouns, 77. 

Irony, 206. 

Irregular verbs, 107. 

Italics, 24. 

Letters, 22. 

Logical subject, object, etc., 180. 

Metaphor, 205. 






214 



INDEX, 



Metonymy, 206. 

Models of Oral Instruction, 11, 12, 

13, 14, 15, 16, 20. 
Models of parsing, 138, 148, 153, 

178. 
Mode, 81. 

Negative form of verbs, 106. 
Nominatives, 127. 
Nouns, 10, 19, 49, 127. 
Number, 55, 86. 
Oral instruction, 9. 
Origin of English words, 117. 
Orthography, 22. 
Paragoge, 203, 
Paragraph, 194. 
Parenthesis, 192. 
Parsing, 126. 
Participles, 85, 162. 
Parts of speech, 9, 48. 
Pauses, poetic, 195. 
Period, 191. 
Personal pronouns, 71. 
Personification, 206 
Person, 54, 86. 
Phrase, 121. 
Pleonasm, 204. 
Poetic license, 201. 
Position of adjectives, 145. 
Possessives, 130. 
Prefixes, 117 — 120. 
Prepositions, 17, 20, 114, 174. 
Principal parts of verbs, 88. 
Progressive form of verbs, 105. 
Pronouns, 15, 20, 70, 127, 133. 
Proper and common nouns, 50. 



Prosody, 195. 

Prosthesis, 203. 

Punctuation, 185. 

Quantity, 195. 

Quotation points, 193. 

Relative pronouns, 75. 

Rhyme, 196. 

Same case, 158. 

Scanning, 197. 

Section, 194. 

Semicolon, 189. 

Sentences, 120. 

Shall and will, 88. 

Simile, 205. 

Sounds of the letters, 30, 40. 

Spelling, 45. 

Stanza, 197. 

Suffixes, 117. 

Syllables, 44, 45. 

Synseresis, 204. 

Syncope, 203. 

Synecdoche, 206. 

Syntax, 120. 

Tenses, 85, 159. 

Tmesis, 204. 

Triphthongs, 29. 

Triplet, 197. 

Trochaic verse, 199. 

Unipersonal (impersonal) verbs, 

112. 
Verbs, 13, 19, 78, 149. 
Versification, 196. 
Vision, 207. 
Vowels, 28, 31, 40. 
Words, 43. 



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